We're Farmers Now!

A week or so ago one of Dad's hens surprised them by hatching out a bunch of chicks. Mom thought they might be fun for the kids to raise over the winter and then hopefully start getting a bunch of eggs come spring. Dad also had this extra cage he had made so they delivered them to some very excited grandchildren.
We now have Clover (the rabbit that seems to be getting out of getting butchered) in one side and the chickens in the other. I think we are beginning to look like farmers and the kids definitely think so but Shh! don't say that to Ken, he is my "City" guy and doesn't want to be a farmer.

California or bust!

We really did find our study of California very interesting. California is a large and diverse state, so there was a lot to learn! We were able to find quite a few interesting books from the library and we had a lot of fun reading.

First a few facts:

• California became a state on September 9, 1850
• The capital is Sacramento
• The state bird is the California Quail
• The state flower is the Golden Poppy
• The state tree is the California Redwood
• California contains the tallest, biggest and oldest trees in the world.
• California has the lowest and highest points in the lower 48 states. (Mount Whitney and Death Valley).
• California grows more than half the nation's fruits, nuts and vegetables.

For food we had San Fransisco "Chicken Wings" (Except I didn't have wings so I cut up pieces of breast and marinated them instead.).

We also enjoyed Raisins and Avocado which are big crops in California.

In our reading we found a story about the 1906 San Fransisco Earth Quake to be quite fascinating! All that happened with not only the hard quakes but also the fire that followed and then the quick rebuilding of the city was quite amazing. After also reading about the Forest fires that tend to happen there also as well as the flash floods and mud slides, the kids were glad we didn't live there.

We also loved reading about the Gold Rush and the amazing things that happened then. We were quite surprised to find that during the Gold Rush many things that people would sell (like clothes and fruit) cost at least as much as it does now. The price of renting a room in San Fransisco during that time was also mind boggling!

I decided to scan a few pictures of my first trip to California. When I was in Bible College 3 friends (Ken, Josh Smith and Betsy Blanshan Cradic) and I decided to travel out to help out at a Bible camp, we also met up with quite a few other college friends and we had a wonderful time. Ken and Josh were from the west coast and Betsy and I stayed with our friends Esther and Christy when we weren't at camp. It was a wonderful trip especially since Ken and I got engaged while we were out there! The page above is when we four girls traveled down (from Reno, NV) to San Fransisco to see what it was like. The top picture is of Lombard Street which is all curvy and is well known.

This next page is from our time on Pier 39. If you want to see them better you can click on the picture.

And then the group of us at Park Creek Bible camp and also one of Ken and I!

California is a very neat state with beautiful trees and rivers and farmland and also dessert. Someday I would love to go explore more of it. It is the nations leading state in producing food and if it were an independent country it would be one of the 10 richest in the world.

What do you like about California?

Wisconsin!

We enjoyed studying about Wisconsin. It is one of our "next door neighbors" so all of us have been there. It is a neat state and is called America's Dairyland. More dairy cows are raised there then any other state. Wisconsin leads the country in Butter and cheese making. Wisconsin is also called the Badger State, a name that refers to lead miners who lived like burrowing animals in caves during the 1820's.

Here is some other interesting information about Wisconsin:

• It became a state on May, 29, 1848 (the 30th state).
• The capital is Madison.
• The state bird is the Robin.
• The state flower is the Wood Violet.
• Green Bay is known as the Toilet Paper Capital of the World because it has many paper mills that make bathroom tissue.
• Wisconsin is from the French spelling of an Ojibwa word that might mean "Our homeland" or "Gathering of the Waters".
• The state tree is the Sugar Maple.

For foods from Wisconsin we had Steak Wisconsin style and also corn, wild rice, milk and butter which are foods that Wisconsin is also known for.

I also made grilled cheese sandwiches to using cheese (of course) that quite likely came from Wisconsin.

If you ever go to Wisconsin a neat place to go is the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior (Northern Wisconsin). For one of our Anniversaries Ken took me there as a surprise. We rode on a ferry boat out to Madeline Island and we stayed out there. There is a small town there which uses a ferry boat to get from the Island to the mainland except when the lake freezes in that area and then they have a "road" across the ice. When the ice is in the freezing process (which was almost happening when we were there) they have to use a plane or helicopter to get back and forth, mostly in that time I think they just stay on the Island.

Another place that seems to be very popular and enjoyed (but I have never been there, except passing by) is the Wisconsin Dells. My sister Anna and her family have enjoyed going there. There are many huge water parks.

What do you think is special about Wisconsin?

Striving to Help the Hurting

I have been very blessed in my life, I was born in a very happy home with parents who loved each other and their children and most of all loved the Lord, I also have been blessed with a wonderful husband and have a happy home with 4 wonderful children. I have had hard times in my life but I never had to face it without having my Lord holding me tight and also the love of family and friends. I have been very blessed. But I have come to realize more and more that is not the case with many people in our world. There are many, many hurting people! People that have relationship troubles, financial difficulties that seem just too overwhelming, domestic violence, sickness, are dealing with death and loneliness.

As I have been coming in contact with hurting people, I often have felt a little overwhelmed, they were facing something I never had experienced and I just didn't know quite what to say. I am learning however that I don't have to know everything or have felt everything, I have a Friend who does know exactly what everybody is going through and He has an answer for every problem. He is there for them and He wants to use me to reach out to them too. Though I am not at all an expert in helping the hurting I thought I would share some of the things that I have learned and encourage you too to reach out to the many people who need to see Jesus through you.

Here are some things that I have found that I can do:

1. Introduce them to the Healer of hurts: Jesus Christ. Anybody who is a christian and has a relationship with Jesus Christ can introduce others to Him too. This is the real answer to all their hurts.
2. Listen. Many just need someone who is willing to listen to them talk about their problems. This doesn't require any special training, just a little time and attention.
3. Have them over to my home to spend time with my family and I. Kids are a wonderful asset in helping people think about positive things. "A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones". Proverbs 17:22 Also I have enjoyed (and those hurting seemed to have as well) spending time working on a project together, visiting and teaching them how I live a simple, frugal and christian life.
4. Pray for them! A verse that I recently found very convicting was Paul's example in 2 Timothy 1:3 "I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day."
5. If they have physical needs (food, clothing, a ride) try to help as much as you are able. Often I can't help with money (and sometimes that is something I would hesitate to give anyway) but I can give food or some of the abundance of what we have in our house.
6. Let them know you are there for them, day or night.
7. Just be their friend. I think their are a lot of hurting people who are simply lonely. Sometimes this can be overwhelming, but being a friend doesn't mean you have to go out to coffee together without children or whatever. You can be a friend with your family included (if they have a family try to include them too) and just do things together that you need to get done anyway such as berry picking, grocery shopping, you get the idea.
8. Confront my fears and do what needs to be done knowing that I have a friend who is with my all of the time. I have found that reaching out to the hurting can get me in situations that are not comfortable for me, but I believe they will help me to grow. "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7
   

As I have said before this is not an area that I am an expert at by any means I have a lot of learning to do but I do think I is a job God has given me and I am going to strive to do my best. Also in my striving to be a "Proverbs 31 Woman" this is something that she gave an example of: "She extends her hand to the poor, and she stretches out her hands to the needy." Proverbs 31:20

A frugal boy

The other day Aaron came up to me and told me that I wouldn't have to buy much meat this winter, he was going to get the meat we needed by killing chipmunks with his slingshot.

I feel so blessed to have a boy that is trying to help out in the reducing of our food budget! :-) I am not sure that he will actually hit anything with his slingshot which I helped him make out of a piece of elastic (his choice of materials - not mine) but I do admire his positive thinking. Also just for the record, I never have eaten chipmunk and I don't think I ever will, but you never know...

A Barbie house made from "Trash"

I had mentioned earlier that we recently made a Barbie house for Mara's birthday. We had so much fun working on it and she was thrilled to receive it AND it cost us nothing except buying a few glue sticks for the project. We were able to use what we had on hand to make it and most of that was stuff that other people would throw away or send to recycling.


I thought it would be fun to give you a little better tour and also explain a little what we used to make things. I am not planning on giving detailed instructions for making anything but if you would like instructions on anything that I mention feel free to leave a comment asking for them and I will do my best.



To begin with we took four boxes that the barbies were able to stand up in and we glued and taped them together. They didn't fit quite perfectly but we adjusted by sticking the flaps out on the two littler boxes and taping them open and then gluing in some extra cardboard reinforcements, so they all ended up being the same depth. We also worked with have one side a little taller than the other and having some extra space at the bottom which we decided to use to make a stairwell.


After that we cut larger pieces of cardboard to fit the side exactly and hot glued them on, then we folded a piece to make a peaked roof (leaving an attic to play in) and cut a piece to go underneath and on the back. This made the house much sturdier. If I were to do it again I would make the roof of two thicknesses of cardboard as well. I also reinforced corners by hot gluing a long strip of folder cardboard on.

After the basic house was done the fun could begin!


I wanted to make a kitchen so I cut off the end of a dry milk box for the correct height for a barbie counter. For a sink I decided to use a peanut butter jar lid so I cut a hole in the bottom of the box and glued the lid inside. I used a bending straw for the faucet and beads for handles. For the stove I used some aluminum from a disposable pan and glued it on and then used black Styrofoam meat trays to make burners. The cupboard below also has beads for handles.



I used part of another Dry milk box to make cupboards above. The red bag in the picture is part of an old onion sack full of "potatoes" (little acorns) .


We also needed dishes and such. We used juice can lids for pizza/ cookie sheets, sample spoons for stirring spoons, sample bowls for mixing bowls, bottle tops for eating bowls, an old spice container for a flour canister, little wooden bead things for mugs and a food coloring bottle for holding beverages.






In our kitchen/ living room we also put a fireplace which I made using cardboard, stones, sticks and lots of glue! :-) The windows are framed with Popsicle sticks and then we used scraps of cloth for curtains (with pony beads holding them up).


Also in our kitchen we needed a phone and calendar. The phone is made out of Styrofoam and the calendar was made by cutting out the little months that are shown on a big calendar and then the pictures that were shown in miniature on the back.








We also needed a table. To make one I took a small piece of board and attached four wooden clothespins. A piece of lace makes a nice table cloth.








For the living room we needed chairs. The picture at left shows what we used to make them: A salt container, upholstery fabric scraps, an old shoulder pad and some carpet padding scraps. I also used some pieces of rag for additional padding.














First we cut the salt box as shown at left. Then we placed in the shoulder pad as padding on the back and glued some fabric on the inside, folding it over to the back. Then I put the fabric around on the outside, gluing edges under so no raw edges were exposed (except for on the bottom of the chair). Then I stuffed a rag in the chair part and topped with the piece of carpet padding, put another small piece of fabric over it and glued it in place. The Barbies are much enjoying their new chairs. I learned how to make these chairs years ago from an older friend June Blanshan. She used to make these and other Barbie accessories for all her granddaughters.


We also had to do a lot of painting and wall papering and carpeting to make the house look good. Here the boys and Megan are hard at work on the roof.

For the inside I used some wallpaper border that I had been given in some rooms along with other plain colored paper. For rugs I used fabric and then in the bathroom I had fun painting the floor and then using modge podge to put little cut out flowers (from a catalog) all over.


The bathroom is probably my favorite room in the house. I had so much fun creating things for it. At left is a picture of some of the items I used: A gallon syrup container (That is the cheapest syrup that I have found at Walmart and the type that Ken and Aaron like to use while the rest of us enjoy the real stuff! ), egg carton white Styrofoam meat trays, a toilet paper tube, a salt container, shells, straws, beads, wire and fabric.



For the shower I cut the top off of the syrup bottle and part of the sides to make a tub and then water proof walls going up. I glued a wire around for the shower curtain rod and then made a shower curtain by putting holes in a piece of fabric with a paper punch. We were able to make wonderful towels and wash clothes from old sweat pants. A straw and button make the shower head.


Near the bathtub on the wall I hung a towel rack made from a key ring on a bead. I glued the bead to the wall and then you can hang a towel on the ring.


For the sink I painted the salt container white, glued a big shell on top for the sink with a tiny shell attached for the soap dish. (The soap Jonathan made out of hot glue drips). I cut an opening underneath so we could use it as a cupboard and then attached a curtain to cover it. We used part of an old toy for a towel hanger.

Above the sink in the bathroom I glued a piece of mirror decorated by beads and with a little bead "light fixture" sticking out on a wire above.



For the toilet I painted a canning lid box and a toilet paper tube white. I also glued to sections of an egg carton together and then cut a seat and lid out of thick white Styrofoam. The toilet paper is a thin strip of real toilet paper rolled on a toothpick and attached to some beads which were then glued to the wall.



For the bed I used: a very study shoe box, carpet padding, two black Styrofoam meat trays, A strip of white fabric (which I had cut off the bottom of a friends wedding dress when I was altering it for her), pink lace and blue fabric for sheets. I cut a headboard out of the Styrofoam, gluing both pieces together for strength. I glued a piece of carpet padding on for the mattress, glued the white fabric and lace around for a bed skirt and then glued the bottom sheet in place. I also cut out a top sheet.

In a house you also have to have other fun details like a tiny ball of baby yarn with knitting needles made out of beads and toothpicks, a tiny basket (from my collection) with some fabric for them to do some sewing.

Another fun detail which I didn't get a picture of was our mailbox made out of a floss container, painted black and then I wrote U.S. Mail on it with a gel pen. We hung it on the outside wall and then I "grew" rose vines all around it using paper ribbon for stems and leaves and little ribbon roses.



That is our fun project of the week. If you have any great ideas for additional things to add to the house let me know.

For other Thrifty Green Thursday ideas go to The Green Baby Guide.