I Wanna Live Like That

So today I planned to work on the little lilly pond.  Here's how it looked when I began:

I had a lot of pruning to do on the wisteria....and a lot of weeding to do underneath.  I worked for hours and got the weeds pulled and the wisteria pruned.  Then LOOK at what showed up....

The most amazing baby in the universe!  And it's warm enough that he had no pants!

Is he not the greatest kid ever?!??!

Of course Epoch had to come and investigate the 'kid'...

Here's my awesome daughter with her boy the most amazing baby in the universe.  Seems to me that he'll be carrying her around soon!

Rylan Turns 1 !!!

It's hard to believe that Rylan is already a year old.  We had a little belated birthday party for him yesterday.  As you can see, he's already driving...

He got a lot of cool presents....

And more....

And a cars cake....

Yay cake!



Your Great Name

Never forget Who is in control.

More!

On rare occasions, I wish I was still on Facebook.  This is one of those occasions.

Rebekah had one of those Mexican candies.  They are a gelatin type candy but they aren't just sweet like American candies are.  They have a chili base and a bit of tartness.

She let Rylan try a taste....the little chili head LOVED it!

Oh Christmas Tree!

We're not going to the Christmas tree farm this year to get a tree.  We had already decided to get a small tree that could sit on a table....to help keep Rylan out of trouble.  The easy next decision was to cut one down on our own property. 

Of course Rylan was the assistant lumberjack.

He was a bit more interested in eating the tree rather than cutting it......

The men folk accomplished their goal and brought home our adorable little tree....

Levi and Julie will be in town today and we'll have a decorating party....then Christmas dinner at mom's this evening!

The New Girlfriend....

I managed to injure my knee planting squash......and because of the injury my steps are a bit limited.  Since last week I had 8 roosters, 18 ducks, and 3 lambs all ready to butcher, I called Levi for help.  I thank God that he was able to come and help me, because I would have never accomplished what we did if I had been working by myself. 

This was our first time ever butchering ducks....and our final count for the weekend is only 3....the other 15 are living it up before I get the time to finish the job. 

Levi has a new girlfriend and he was a bit reluctant to leave her for a second time.....especially since he'd be here for 4-5 days this time....so we invited her to come visit as well. 

Julie is a wonderful girl....the more I get to know her, the more I love her.  One problem we had with the visit was that she is a bit squeamish about processing meat.  Kinda odd when you consider she's been stateside for about 3 months after a tour of duty in Afghanistan and another in Iraq....and she is EOD.  Go figure!

The first full day they were here Levi helped me process 8 roosters and 3 ducks.  We kill, bleed, and pluck the birds outside and then put them on ice before bringing them inside to eviscerate, and take the heads and feet off.  Late that evening Julie noticed something in the trash and couldn't resist that morbid impulse to investigate....yes, that's a duck foot....

Yep, she did it....picked that thing up and let me get a picture!  She toughened up over the next couple of days......

And I nearly got a nice picture of the 2 of them....aren't they a cute couple?  Please try to ignore the goofball in the background....

I even got a nice picture of Ben and Levi with their girlfriends, Terra and Julie.  I thank God every day for my family, and for the new "children" I get to adopt as our family grows.

Levi's Visit!

Levi came into town this weekend and we all had a great visit! He got to meet Rylan for the first time....

And I actually got a picture of 3 of my favorite men folk in one shot!

Stephanie was able to get him with a wet willie....

And it looks like Rylan is practicing too...

They even managed to get a picture of him and me together!

Then Rylan had to babysit Bob so he could get a nap....

What a handsome boy!

Press On!

What a beautiful song!

Can I Tell You....

How much I love this man?  Can I tell you how much I appreciate him?  I thank God every day for sending him to me.  He is an excellent husband,provider, and father.    

We have been blessed with our first grandson, and our second grandson is on the way. 

We are entering a new phase of our life.  I pray that God continues to bless us.

A Time for Change

We have made major changes in our lives over the last few months, and we are now entering a new season of our life

Obviously every aspect of our life is important...God, family, food, health. God is the foundation of our life and He never changes. I need to make that clear before I continue.....because even though our lives are evolving....our God never changes, never ceases, never wavers. Without God there is nothing. Without the love of God, there is no hope.

Our family has changed at what seems to be the speed of light. Or maybe sound (I tend to be too loud). Our sons are grown men now. Our oldest daughter is grown and has a son of her own. And despite our best efforts and guidance, our youngest daughter will be a teenage mother this summer.

I am thankful that God has brought us through thus far. Despite the troubles, our family bond is close. I am thankful that we can be close together as a family. I know it all will come together with purpose. I pray that we all have the strength to endure and press on.

Ever have so much to do?

Have you ever had so much to do you just do not know where to begin?  I've been that way since yesterday.  Yesterday was the first day since we lost Taboo that I wasn't crying most of the day.  I am a fanatical animal lover, and our dogs are furry family members.  Each one has it's own place in the family...from livestock guardian to lap companion.  I miss her terribly....

Grace has done her best to make me feel better.  She knows when I am sad and she just hovers.  Who couldn't smile when they see that big Scooby-Doo face and those lips so big you can wrap them around your head???

Kapu does a fantastic job keeping my lap warm.  We've been saying that she's a "princess in training"....

She loves to pose for the camera, and is so well behaved.....

and then we got her brother, Hank.

Kapu and Hank have the same mom & dad, but are from different litters.  Hank is 6 weeks old, 2# 7 oz of all boy.  Any sister that had a baby brother can identify I'm sure....

And now another try...

Here is a rare shot of all 4 inside dogs together....although you really can't see Joey in the pic...

I REALLY have to get things done tomorrow.  The house is a mess, I have herbs to dry, pork to grind, jerky to make, and I have several sewing projects to finish.  My kids have been a great help...although they have just mostly cleaned around the edges and let me mourn in my own way.

Here's Ben on his way out to help with something....

And Rebekah helping with something else....

Hmmmmm......people make comments that I have so many pictures of my dogs or other animals...not so many of my kids.  Do these pictures give you a clue?  At least the animals stay still!  My kids avoid the camera like the plague!

Dutch Oven Cooking

Now that cooler temps are upon us, we've started using the DO's for cooking again.  Last night we cooked our favorite chicken dinner and and apple pie.  It's all cooked in the dutch ovens in the fire pit....and only takes an hour or so to cook.  If you're "roughing it" camping, or just want an electricity free evening; this is a wonderful meal!

First you start with chicken leg quarters...I allow one leg per person, unless they are teenage boys...better go 3 each for them and add another dutch oven to the stack!

If your DO is well seasoned, just arrange the legs in the bottom.  If the DO needs something, rub the inside with a bit of lard.  Don't forget to season the chicken.  I use a salt-free poultry herb blend, then sprinkle with sea salt.  Next add 1 large sliced onion.

Then add about 3 pounds of scrubbed new potatoes.  Any potatoes will work, but the new potatoes have thinner skin.

Again, add seasoning and salt.  Then add 2 ribs of celery, cut into large chunks, 4 carrots (scrubbed & left unpeeled) cut into large chunks, some ears of corn....and whatever other veggies you'd like to toss in!

Again, add seasoning and salt.  We also added some smoked sausage on the very top.  Smoked sausage gives the meal a faint smoky flavor and besides that, we can't hardly eat a meal without it!

Then add a quart of water (try to add it in one spot so as not to rinse the seasoning off the vegetables)....

And then the most important part of the dinner assembly.....BUTTER!  Top it off with a few pats of butter before putting on the lid....(about 1 stick)

Next we start work on the apple pie.  I get the dinner and dessert assembled while Bob is building the fire. 

I cheat and use frozen pie crusts whenever possible.  When they go on a big sale, I try to buy at least a dozen boxes or the kind in the pan....because on sale they cost about 50 cents per crust....WAY worth the money to me since I can't make a decent crust!  That's a 1 pound hunk of butter....between the 2 dishes we use about 3/4 of it.  And 1 quart plus 1 pint of my home canned apple pie filling.  The last ingredient is cinnamon sugar.

First you cut slabs of butter and place them in the bottom of the DO.

Next you lay out one of the pie crusts along the bottom, pressing gently against the pan and poke a few holes in it with a knife....

Then you add a few more pats of butter, and sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar....

Now the base is done and you add both jars of pie filling, then a few more slabs of butter....and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar....

Then just lay on your top crust, poke a few steam hole in it, more cinnamon sugar, and it's ready for the pit!

Here are both dishes before going to the fire....

Place the lids on, then set the larger oven in the fire first, covering the lid completely with red coals.  Then set the smaller oven on top, covering it's lid completely with red coals also.  Wait 15 minutes and then turn them 45º.

Every 15 minutes, they get another turn....

For a total of 4 turns.  That's 1 hour of cooking....and they're done!!

Pit cooking is so easy and FUN!  I'm thrilled that our evenings are cool again.