Thankgiving and Gratefulness

For the first time in several years I will have all of my children home for Thanksgiving. While the children were growing up I never realized just how wonderful that was. I would be trying to get dinner on and they would all be around my feet. I remember thinking that we should just go out to eat and it would be easier. All those times that I got frustrated with them for being in the way. Now, I am so excited that I am going to have to say Excuse Me a hundred time Thursday as we all jockey around the kitchen. And I am ashamed that I ever considered not having them all with me. My oldest son joined the military at 18. His first duty station was Germany. As a new private coming home for the holidays was just not going to happen. As his time in Germany drew to a close we thought we would once again be able to be together. That was short lived when he got sent to Iraq next. This is the first time in 5 years that I will have all 7 of them home for Thanksgiving. I am so thankful and yet it is bitter sweet. We are a military family. My husband is a soldier as well. He is currently serving in Kuwait and he will not be with us this holiday season at all. In the spring David, my oldest, will be on his way to Afghanistan. He will be there for at least a year. It will be several more years before we are all together as a complete family at the holidays. I will never again take for granted the happy chaos of the holidays. Even the silly arguments about who will sit where are now dear to me. They really do grow up so fast and our time with them is fleeting. Enjoy them. Love them. And most of all be thankful for each and every day with them no matter how stressful. They are a gift from God in every way.

Blessings
Dawn

THE AMAZING DOO

We recently had a opportunity to purchase our grandson a tractor to play with in the yard. We have a large yard for the children to play in, but we really didn't have many toys for the younger children. Doo loves helping me in the yard and garden so when I saw this I had to get it for him. He has gotten so much fun out of it. Although we have to be careful because steering is not something he is really good at yet. It was a real splurge for us, but I love watching him on it. Grandchildren are amazing.

Shopping in Shipshewanna

I recently took my dd Lisa to Shipshewanna, IN to shop at

E & S sales. It is a very large bulk store that I shop at once a month. It is a 2 and 1/2 hour drive so I don't usually take the children with me. Lisa is such a huge help to me that I wanted to have a day with her to reward her for her help. Lisa tends to get car sick. So while I was in the store she stayed in the van. I came out of the store and she was grinning. Not your normal grin. That I just did something that I shouldn't have done grin. I asked her why she was grinning. She told me that she has just broke a going to Amish country rule. She had taken a picture of an Amish person. She told me that she just couldn't help herself. That this huge man on this tiny pony cart and pony just tickled her so much she had to take a picture. Since it wasn't a face on picture I let her keep it. It was kinda funny if you look at it in that way. I explained to her that it was a pony cart and use for children and short runs. I think she likened it to a full sized man on a child's bike of play toy.

Changes Comming

For a very long time now my husband and I have wanted to move. We were both raised in rural enviorments and wanted to go back to our roots. We have the knowledge and heart for the country. We just didn't have the money. My husband is a career military man. We have lived many places over the last 24 years. Of all the places that we have been stationed Kansas was the most like what we had grown up with. I think that we were to young when we were stationed there to recognize what we had. My husband is now stationed in Kuwait where he has been for about a year. He won't be home until this time next year. The next year will be all planning and preparing. We are looking for a homestead. We currently live in Indiana but we are not set in stone here. Being from a military background we are prepared to move to where ever we find what we want. I have been looking as far as Nebraska. We have been to Tennessee to see what is there. It is beautiful. Indiana has many rural areas also as it is mostly a farm state. I am praying for direction in this matter. I know that the Lord will direct us. I am excited though. I do love change. It is all new and exciting. Only this time we will be putting down roots. What ever the Lord has in mind for us will be wonderful. I know that he knows so much better than me. I think now I am just mature enough to listen.
So, if anyone out there in blog land knows of a cheap homestead for sale. Or land that has potential, let me know. We don't want anything fancy. We don't mind hard work. We just want to live as close to the land as we can and free ourselves from all of the (stuff) that the world says we have to have. So with that in mind, keep us in your prayers.

THE AMAZING DOO

I just ran across this picture while looking for a different picture. This little guy is my first Grandchild. He is named after his Uncle David who is named after his Uncle David who is also named after his Uncle David. As you can imaging it gets very confusing around here. At some point in time someone started calling him Davey-Doo. And then we all got lazy and just started calling him Doo. He is an amazing little man who is constantly reminding me that God is Good! He turns every bad day into a good one with just a smile. His Hello Nanny! is enough to melt my heart every time. He is real and I know that he loves me just because I am Nanny. Recently he got a new brother who we needed to name as cute as Doo. So keeping with tradition let me introduce you to Boo.

Amazing Bread Recipe

I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but I do have to admit that it came from my old stand by Amish Cookbook. I have so many friends asking for the bread I thought I would post the recipe. I will add that I think the outcome is more based on the quality of flour that is used more that the recipe. I only use Wheat Montana Unbleached Unbromated Flour. It is a high protein flour that I have only found at Bulk Amish Grocery stores. I know that you can order it online and it is available in smaller amounts from Walmart. I buy in 50lb bags because is is more economical. I also mix it half and half with 100 percent whole wheat flour. So here goes.

3 cups warm water

3 tablespoons yeast

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon salt ( I use sea salt)

3 cups of flour

Place above ingredients in a bowl mix and allow to form a (sponge). It takes about 20 minutes.

While this is working in another container

1 cup hot water

1/2 cup honey

1 cup oil.

Stir honey into hot water and mix until disolved. Add oil.

Mix this into the yeast mixture once it has made a sponge.

Mix well

Begin adding flour 2 cups at a time and stiring in. I usually end up adding about 6 to 8 cups of flour. Once a stiff dough it formed turn out onto a floured sufface and knead for about 6 minutes adding flour as needed. The book says it will take about 10 cups all together. I have found that the higher the protein content of the flour the less it will take. I have honestly never measured the Flour. I knead the dough for about 2-3 minutes and let it rest for about 3-4 minutes and then knead it for 3 more. I should stretch well without tearing when you are done.

Place in a well oiled bowl and allow to double and a half. I have found if I allow it to rise at its own rate without rushing it with warmth from the oven I get a better more even raise. I does take longer, but I just do other things for a while. Once it has doubled and a half I punch it down and divide it into 4 loaf pans forming the loaves on the counter first. I allow it to get a little more than doubled and bake it for 25-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. This bread is amazing. I have tried many recipes looking for a loaf that my family will eat and enjoy like store bought. This is as close as I think I can come. I also slice it on an electric meat slicer so I get nice even pieces and place it in bread bags that I buy at the same Bulk Amish Store. They are about 3.00 dollars for 50 and I do reuse them several times. I also use clothes pins instead or twist ties to save money. This bread freezes really well so I can do all the baking one day a week and pull it out of the freezer as needed.

My amazing grandson celebrated his 2nd Birthday recently. He loves his Sock Monkey. So, I dug out the old cake decorating stuff and came up with this. The word Shibby is just something he says all of the time. We are not really sure what it means or where he heard it. We do know that he is really cute when he says it. So, we made it part of the memory.

Happy Birthday Davey Doo. Nanny Loves You!

Wow, has it really been that long?

I started this thing when my husband left for Kuwait. I thought it would be a great way to keep a diary of life without him. Boy did I FAIL! I really didn't find the time to do any writing at all. Well I think that I am going to give it another crack. I do enjoy writing and I think if I approach it differently I will do better.
First let me just say that it has been many many months since I even signed into this thing. I had really wanted to make it a positive thing. But life was crazy and I let this go. Well I think that I have regained control over My Crazy Life, and I would love to share some wonderful things even if there aren't many people to read it. It just seems very affirming to share how wonderful God is and how he carries us through the hardest times in our lives. This time without my husband has most definitely been a challenge. I need to learn to rely on My Savior more and myself less. It is so easy to say that we have faith. It is much harder to act on that faith and know that He will carry us through no matter what. That is where I have failed. I am just not patient enough to let go and let God. He has shown me so much lately. It is just one of my many weaknesses. I am like a spoiled child sometimes. I want it now. And like many spoiled children, my Father has been patient and loving. He has shown me that I need to ask with a joyful, submissive heart. Not a spoiled, selfish heart.
The Lord is so good. My heart is full. I have so much to be thankful for and I am so blessed that I have a Heavenly Father that is patient enough to let me learn to be still and listen.
I am rambling I know. But it helps to see in words just how wonderful Christ is and how wonderful his mercy is.

LIFE IS CRAZY, GOOD THING GOD IS IN CONTROL

Well, like the title said. Good thing God is in control. Life has just spiraled into something that I can't seem to put my finger on these past few weeks. Many things both good and not so good have happened keeping me from blogging. At any rate I am now back and life with hopefully return to normal. I have just told God that it is all his and thats all folks,
I will start by saying that out little bunny passed away. I am not really sure what happened. He was here and then he was gone. I thought for sure that he was past the crucial point. That is what I get for thinking.
I haven't gotten much done on the remodel. I have been fighting a terrible kidney `infection for the past few weeks. I am feeling much better. Life is getting back to normal and my homeschoolers are not very happy to be back in school. I am afraid that this year has not ben as productive as others have been. I thought that when my husband went to Kuwait I would have more time to spend with the boys on lessons. I was soooooooooooo wrong. I struggle to get anything done. There are truly not enough hours in the day.
So I have decided to spend more time in prayer and just trust. That is the only way that I am going to get through this.
More later
Dawn

Surprize Surprize!!

Since my husband is away, I thought I would surprise him by making over a few rooms while he is gone. I started with our room because I believe that we should have some place nice to unwind and relax after long day. Not only is my husband a military man, he is also a corrections officer. He comes home pretty stressed out sometimes. I know that he sees many things that he does not bring home. He is kind and considerate in that way so I thought that I would change our room into something calm and quiet. I choose a soft green for the walls. I love wallpaper, but thought I would be making it too girly if I put it on all the walls, so I opted for only one wall. Then I sanded the floor and refinished it. I hope he doesn't slip and fall. I liked the shine so much I might have put too many coats of varnish in the floor. I haven't taken any pics with the furniture in the room but I will post them as soon as I do. Anyway, here is the finished product without furniture. Tell me what you think.

NEW BABY BUNNY PICS

As you can see Mom tolerates him now.

THIS IS OUR BABY AT ABOUT TWO WEEKS.

I know. I should not be gaga over a bunny. I am just soft that way. Do you remember that song, "One of these things is not like the other?" Well this is our bunny who thinks he is a kitten.

OVERHAUL

We have decided to do some major overhauling here around the house. As you can imagine, 7 growing children out grow their living spaces very quickly. We have the cutest little dinning room. Our I sould say we had the cutest little dinning room. You see we are not what you would call dinning room people. We are what I call kitchen people. Good food, good company all around the kitchen table laughing and eating until we bust. Yup, that would be us. So, back to the dinning room. The dinning room was built in such a way the a wall could be built to wall it off and make another bedrrom. And that is exactly what I did. I know I will miss having a place to sew and fold the laundy. A place to put everything when I don't know where else to put it. But I am ever so happy to put my young man in his own space. You see my young man is amazing. He is smart and funny and he really craves his own space. It is hard being the youngest of 4 brothers. You just can never fill the olders shoes. He does a greaat job filling his own shoes and I like them just the way that they are. A perfect size Christoper. So that said I will just have to search for another way to fold the laundry and such. I will lovingly paint up the walls and sew up some curtains and beg him to clean this space for at lest the next 6 or 7 years. I wouldn't have it any other way. That is what I do. I am a Mom.

The Bunny

I really need to spend more time here. I have so many things that I would like to share. My family has had the pleasure of raising a baby bunny these last few weeks and I think that it might be easier the raise a real baby. The experience has been wonderful though. The children have learned just how delicate life is and have watched it change right before their eyes. I was affraid that they were getting to attached to the little guy, but all that love has paid off. He is an amazing bit of lovable fluff. The children have named him or her Lucky. A very appropriate name since we found him beaten and bloodied by his mother. She did not want him and had tried to kill him. He is currently sharing a nice warm nest with a litter of kittens a few weeks younger than him. The Mama Kitty has taken him in and loved him from the begining even before her babies were born. Mothers are amazing beings even when they just choose to be one. In the photo he is only about 5 days old. I will post newer pictures as soon as I get them loaded.

I am affraid I have not been able to balance everything since my husband has gone of to Kuwait, but I think I have finally gotten it all under control.
So, hopefully, I will be able to post more often. I would really like to have a journal of his time away just to look back on and remember.
Patrick called the other night to let me know that they had made it there and were hot and tired. Well, I don't know how much people watch the weather, but I live smack dab in the middle of Indiana. Also known as the North Pole. As I write the ice hanging from the gutters is pulling them off of the building. It is 6 degrees outside. I am glad he is in a place that is warm, but I am freezing. It is around 70 degrees there in the winter. I told him we would discuss it again in a few months when it is 70 here and 120 there. He said he was sorry for teasing me about being warm. I Love him anyway. We have to laugh at this time apart or it seems worse. He also told me that he may have a chance to extend and stay another 6-12 months. He was serious. I tried not to show my disapointment as we are using this money to totally get out of debt and start a homestead. If it is the Lords will that he be gone than he will give me strenght the endure it. In the mean time I am doing some home improvements and paying bills. I hope to be posting about the home improvements and such in the future.
In Christ
Dawn