Bible Verse April 25th

Deuteronomy 30:19-23 (New Living Translation)
19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This[a] is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Dad's New Office

Thought I would share!

Notice the headphones! Don't that just add a wonderful touch to dad's new office. He is phone man this week. I love it! Half the time or more it is for him anyway.

New Project

My plate wasn't full enough. I almost never am attracted to "free" dogs at the flea market. This Sat. I was. I finally broke. This is a sheltie. He was timid up there but owner "assured" me it was the crowd. Wrong. This dog has had NO socialization with humans. Wasn't leash trained.... you name it. Upside he hasn't ever snapped. He is beautiful and smart.

MN decided he was going to be her dog. She has spent HOURS working with him and just hanging out with him. Timing was really good since we loaded her "buddies" on the trailer Sunday afternoon for the sale. She needed some thing to hang with, that wasn't human, didn't talk back and was enjoyable to be around.

Dog, who got named Bugger Bear is leading for MN wonderfully. She can catch him without to much work if he isn't on the leash. He eats out of a bowl with her right next to the bowl. He has even started eating out of her hand. Not mine, I offered him a piece of flat bread earlier and he sniffed but didn't take.

It really is good for MN. She was fussing about how much she wished he would just trust her. I couldn't resist. I ask her how long it took her to trust me? She got the connection! She said a long time. There are so many correlations between an abused dog and an abused child. :) This pup seems to be doing good at learning to at least sorta trust MN.

He is calm and spends most of his time asleep under her feet as she does school or on a rug some where in the living room until she comes to get him for a potty walk. He is allowing everyone to touch most of the time without flinching. We can all walk around now with him sleeping stretched out instead of in watch mode.

As I have said before life is never dull around here.

Making Gravy

The other morning we were doing biscuits, sausage and gravy for breakfast. S was wanting the "recipe" for gravy. Recipe? Hahahhahaahaha! So when it came time to make the gravy I had her watch closely. She then got to stir the gravy until it thickened. The whole time she had this confused look on her face. She couldn't get past the fact that I didn't have a recipe for gravy. For me Recipe's are guidelines, not written in stone. S tends to be a written in stone person. This time I wasn't even trying to blow her out of the water with my lack of stone. I don't ever use a recipe for gravy. I learned watching my mom.

The next morning she volunteered to make gravy. I think she did measure her ingredients. She made a wonderful pan of gravy all by herself. It was thick enough, but not one giant clump. For her first time she did awesome! Much better than my first 50 pans of gravy!

Windmills..........

Last weekend we went to Abilene along the way we stopped so I could take pictures of the windmills. They are sprouting from many many hills in our area. I hope you can see the size from some of these pictures. They are monsters.

This picture captures it pretty well. See the "fence post" under them? Those are high line post NOT fence post.

This picture shows some buildings under them, and also an idea of how many there are. They stretched like this on both sides of the road.

Back Surgery Update

Thanks for all the prayers. Everything went well. We were home a little before 6. He was still groggy and had to stay up until 11. By then he was tracking pretty good and not slurring his speech. This morning he is sore, but not in much pain. He is moving slow. No foot races today! At least to start the morning. He is suppose to start walking around the house a good bit today, no bending, lifting or twisting.

Prayers and Pictures....

I "thought" I had two good ones of my youngest grandbaby, but they were both blurry, so I will share the one with my other grandbaby's mommy holding him. We had a house full for supper tonight. It was great. I got to get my grandbaby K to sleep twice! While Grandbaby T kept coming for me to hold him while mommy held that "other" baby! He really did well sharing mommy though.

After supper they cleaned the table off to play spoons. I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of the youngest player in the group. I wouldn't want to play poker against this kid would you?

My son came out with trailer in tow. I loaded all my feeder lambs and kids in it for the sale. YEA! Putting out feed just got a whole lot easier! I have about 5 keeper lambs and kids and 6 or so younger bottle babies. Sure beats keeping feed out for that 50+ that we sent to town today.

One more I took the other morning of my DIL snuggling her son. It was just to sweet to not include.

I do ask for prayers tomorrow as DH is having back surgery. It is day surgery, to "trim" a disk in his lower back. He is to take it easy for a week, meaning no work and no anything. Yea, right! Should be interesting. Then light duty, no lifting, but back to work if all goes well. We have to be at the hospital by 6 AM.

Enjoy the pictures!

Storms and kids....

Last night when I came home from my mom's night my living room was empty. This morning when I got up it was filled to overflowing. I wanted to get pictures, but was afraid of waking some of them up. How many you wonder? Three adults, 2 older children, and my grandbaby. Why? Storms! The weren't bad, but we did get a LOT of wonderful rain. Over 2 inches!

Once everyone was awake I cooked breakfast 3 lbs sausage and a huge stack of blue berry pancakes. We even had pancakes left over!

I did laugh to myself. A friend on the adoption board was fussing because her case worker ask her where she would set more kids if she adopted and even ask the kids what they would think of sharing their food. She has 5 kids now. What a mindset! This morning is a prime example of how large families work. MJ was asking where he could set, I told him to either find a place or wait until everyone else ate and then figure out where to set. Amazing he found a seat and ate with everyone. It was all about going and FINDING a chair.

Some of the kids have ventured out to wonder around in the mud. Others seem to be stuck on school work. No one has ask to ride bikes yet. I did have to run MN out of the mud doing chores, she was seeing how muddy she could get her shoes.

I should have taken the camera when I went to check things, it is nice to see mud and full ponds. I did put the ranger in 4wd. I don't think I would have gotten stuck without it, but I don't like walking in the mud, so decided to be safe.

With my living room full of bodies I didn't get my Bible done, so I think I will take my Bible and go find a nice quite place.... maybe my bed to read and study a while. :) Not sure there IS a quite place here. My house is still running over with awake bodies. They are busy playing chess and chatting and annoying each other. How sad it would be to miss all of this with having a small family!

Monday Catch-up Day

Since we were gone all weekend we are playing catch-up on lots of things. Today is my usually day to do laundry. I discovered I had ONE load worth of laundry soap left in my small container. I did have a couple left in my 5 gallon bucket. I started the day by making a new batch of laundry soap. It needs to set 24 hours before it is ready to use. I "think" I have enough to do what I need today. Then the kids can refill the pour bottle in the morning.

Two of the kids are done with school. MJ was done before 8. I think he must have worked ahead on Thursday. MN wasn't far behind him. She finished right after chores. She was very mad at her alarm clock since it didn't go off at 5:30 like she had planned.

Some of the things we did this weekend were go to the Creation Museum in Glenn Rose. It was interesting and good. I wish they had more stuff, but it IS growing! We also went to Dinosaur State Park. It was way to cool to really play in the water, but the kids did have fun jumping from rock to rock.

Sat. we had a lazy morning of breakfast and visiting with my SIL and BIL. The we were off to listen to Thurman Scrivner. We met a couple of other families from church there. It was a very interesting 4 hours of teaching. I wasn't bored. :) The time went really fast. After that we went out to eat with one other family. We went to Boston Pizza. It was fun and funny. Our waitress was on her second day of training. They stick her with a group of 17, all but 4 of them under 19! It was a lot of fun! We wiped out 5 large pizzas and had a great time visiting.

Sunday morning we did an other lazy morning and then started off toward home. I didn't yell "STOP!" to many times for pictures. I did get the picture of the old windmill along the way.

Once home I had to fill my feeders. They had ran out while I was gone. I was very thankful we came home early enough I could do it in the daylight. I am also thankful for the skid steerer. It made putting out 14 fifty lb sacks of feed much easier.

We did have a small rain while we were gone. Not sure exactly how much, but a few small puddles. All rain is needed and appreciated. Sat evening it thundered and lightning and rain some in the Dallas/FT. Worth area. They need rain too.

I have worked off and on all morning on this post. I guess I better hit post and go hang my clothes out of the dryer.

West Texas Rain

Here is our weather forcast for today................

Statement as of 11:40 AM CDT on April 09, 2009
... High Wind Warning remains in effect until 4 PM CDT this afternoon... A High Wind Warning remains in effect until 4 PM CDT thisafter noon. Strong gusty west winds are expected to continue thru mid afternoon.Wind speeds of 30 to 40 mph across the Concho Valley and northern Heartland with a few gusts to around 50 mph possible. The windswill begin to subside by late afternoon.Precautionary/preparedness actions... A High Wind Warning means a hazardous high wind event is expectedor occurring. Sustained wind speeds of 40 mph or greater and/orwind gusts of 58 mph or greater can lead to property damage.Motorists driving on area roadways... especially roadways that runnorth and south... should be alert for sudden gusts.

Fire Weather Warning
Expires 9:00 PM CDT on April 09, 2009 -->
Statement as of 4:44 AM CDT on April 09, 2009
... Red flag warning remains in effect from 10 am this morning to9 PM CDT this evening... A red flag warning remains in effect from 10 am this morning to9 PM CDT this evening. Very windy conditions will develop across west central Texas by mid-morning and continue through this afternoon and early west winds are expected to gust over 45 mph. Temperatures will warm well into the 80s this afternoon... and relative humidity values will drop to between 5 and 10 percent. The combination of these factors will result in extremely critical fire weather conditions. Precautionary/preparedness actions... do not throw cigarettes onto the ground or out of a moving vehicle. Avoid activities that may produce outdoor flames or Sparks of any kind. Accidental ignitions will have the potential to grow very rapidly into dangerous... wind-driven wildfires.A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now... or will shortly. A combination of strong winds... low relative humidity... and warm temperatures will create explosive fire growth potential.

Here is our West Texas "Rain"!

Keep in mind I do not live near any plowed fields. This is just blowing dirt/dust/rocks from ground that has some grass and isn't plowed at all. I am sure that visibility in areas that have lots of fresh plowed ground is close to zero. The dust is also worse west of us and north of us into the panhandle. Judging by how slow the internet is I would guess that between here and town the dust is really bad. Wireless doesn't work well in fog, heavy rain and so it seems DUST storms!

Strong will? My Will....

I had such a good laugh this morning. S did something spiteful to MN. I called her on it. She did the deny. That flew about as far as lead balloons. Since that didn't work she decided to ignore me. :) Oh the pouty face. She is on one side of the table arms crossed looking like she just had a bite of a lemon. I am relaxed feet propped in a chair on the other side of the table. I am speaking truths, in a quite relaxed voice. She refuses to even LOOK at me. I continue to speak truths off and on. I laugh and chat with others and enjoy the "game". With in 30 minutes game is over! She can't continue her stance of "mad". Before I finish eating the grapefruit I am eating she is laughing. She owns what she did and why. Life goes on.

For some setting and maintaining a calm composure and allowing her to stew while mom enjoyed it for 30 minutes might see a long time. I couldn't help pointing out that when her older brother was about 12 he sat at the bar for 7 HOURS not doing 15 math problems. I even sold one of his goats while he sat. Then there is MN who I usually have to push over the top in mad to get it done with. Or T who can stand on the steps and SCREAM for 3 hours straight. Poor S doesn't have a chance against my training.

Life is never dull!

Bible Verse April 2

Exodus 15:26 (New Living Translation)
26 He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”

Crazy kids and other ramblings.....

Some of my crazy kids and one of my DIL's brothers decided to go swimming today. Remember that the temps were below 30 this morning. Our pool is 1/2 above ground. The water temp was about 56. Air temp was about 74. Winds weren't bad, only 10-15 mph. They didn't swim long. They did swim longer than I expected them too. They did a LOT of edge setting for some reason.

While we were out there taking pictures I discover a goat with an issue. He has managed to get this bucket on as a side pack. He went through the handle and some how it got stuck. After MN and I got through laughing and taking pictures she took pity on him and got the bucket off.

I also got some cute grand baby pictures. He was "loving" the kitty!

Swinging on a big kid swing!

Like father like son.... going hunting! You can't hear the boom and pow sound effects that went along with toting this fire arm. (notice the electrical tape helping hold it together.)

I will Post....

Not a lot going on today, or all week. Kids did start a new or old year of school depending on the child on Monday. Everyone seemed happy with it and did well. They were all finished by lunch. With very few redo's. T had the most. Her problem is she is in way to big a hurry. It isn't that she can't do it, it is she doesn't even bother to read the lesson before doing the questions. Most of the time she still manages to pull a C out, but a C just doesn't cut it here. My new threat/promise is that if she has a re-do she will have to sit a LONG time and just think. Oh what a terrible consequence that will be for her!

My DIL sent me new pics of the kid. I had to share my favorite.

In other news we did get part of our garden planted on Sat. We planted green beans, squash, cantaloupe and watermelon. I didn't buy any tomatoes or peppers. Walmart just didn't have any that I liked. Guess that was God, since it was 27 degrees this morning. Since we didn't have much in the way of blooms on our peach trees I doubt after this we will get any fruit. I haven't looked to see if the fig tree which was just starting to leaf out got bit.

I am off to see what I can accomplish today. After a cold start the day is warming up quickly. We are already at 59. Maybe I can accomplish Bible study in the sun! That sounds like a great thing to accomplish. All be blessed!

Bible Verse: April 7th

Romans 14:23 (New Living Translation)
23 But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.

April 5 Bible Verse

Luke 10:19 (New Living Translation)
19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.

School Update.....

T finished her school on Tue. She spend 1/2 the day being bored as others had to work. On Wed. she and I went and got a ton of feed and unloaded it. She would drag the sacks to the back of the truck I would empty them into barrels and using a dolly move them where I wanted them. It was slow but we got it done.

After unloading the feed I started loading her 4th grade school work on her new computer. She bounced around like a rubber ball and helped install everything. School is set to start on Monday the 6th. As of this morning she has finished all of Monday's school and is working on Tue. She turned 8 in Dec. She finished 3rd grade with just below a 90 average across the board. Not bad!

I think MN will finish her school today. She is down to a few in math. MJ well ??? maybe by tomorrow night. He has some in Science and Math.

S......... hummmm she will be taking some subjects over instead of going to the next grade. She just pouted about having to do it to long, cheated to much and flat doesn't work well if she isn't cheating. I really think she has spent her life cheating on everything and now is having to learn that her brain is useful and smart and can learn. She will study and pass and be so excited. It is sad and funny. She has been cleaning mental closets this week a lot. We have pushed to tears and as I gather her in my arms the sobs come and the disclosures of rejection, abuse and fear come. Each time is a cleansing for her. She feels less weight and less dirt attached to her afterwards. It is just so hard to make those confessions. Each time I see healing and growth after we spend time fighting then cuddling. Last night she was so angry at us, standing there alone and defiant about some little something that shouldn't have even been a big deal, but she had made it into one. As we talked I hit a nerve and the tears slowly fell, yet her face or stance never changed. I let her stew in her defiance a few more minutes as we talked then walked over to her gathered her in my arms and started whispering, "I love you S!" "I love YOU!" The dam broke. After holding her a few minutes standing we sat on the couch and cuddled as I pushed and prodded for what her greatest fears were. We took them and looked at them with Jesus. As He guided her into truth about what she feared the devil lost his power to put fear on her in those areas. This morning she cleaned closets, only this time the closets upstairs, getting rid of most/all of her clothes from AR. I really don't understand the reason she needed them gone, but she did. I don't know exactly what memories are attached to these material possessions but she needed them gone.

As always life is never dull around here. Busy yes, dull.... never!

Praying that today will be a very blessed day for all who read this.

Bible Verse April 2

Proverbs 12:18 (New Living Translation)
18 Some people make cutting remarks,
but the words of the wise bring healing.