Hymn

When I was growing up, I was one of those who attended church once or maybe twice a year, and usually it was under duress. I wasn't raised with church a part of my life. I could recite the Lord's Prayer, say the Rosary, and a couple of lines from the Apostle's Creed. I recited them, never fully understanding the meanings of any of it. The music in church, to me, was the same - I could sing along with no clue of what I was singing. As I grew up, I left church altogether, attending only for weddings and funerals. I say I left it, but I never was really...there. As an adult, after my second child was born, I was invited to a contemporary, Christian, non-denominational church and began my new life as a Christian. My whole life changed, definitely for the better - for the greatest, best journey of my life.

This church that I have attended since 2002, being contemporary, presents music that is upbeat and joyful - meaningful songs you would hear on Christian radio stations. I never spent time in a traditional setting, singing hymns, learning them, hearing the words and understanding them. Occasionally, our incredibly talented band throws in a hymn, and when they do, while most folks around me are singing along without looking at the words on the projector, I am reading the words with fresh eyes, hearing the lyrics, new to my ears, mind and heart. Hymns are a new experience for me.

Sunday, we sang a song that I had heard before but never understood - I recognized the tune but never experienced......it is so hard to put this to words - it felt like I was washed clean - goosebumps covered my arms and legs, my heart felt like it was filled to the brim - with the love of my Savior, with love FOR my Savior. The song is Come Now Fount, and here are the lyrics:

Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise

Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise His name! I'm fixed upon it
Name of God's redeeming love

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee

Prone to wander Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

Here's my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

Our week

Man, we have had quite a week, actually 9 days and counting. It all started last Monday when Sophia came home after school with a fever and chills. She stayed home with that fever till yesterday, which was, count 'em, 8 days. We took her to the Dr twice, neither time with a diagnosis. They said it wasn't the flu (according to the test) but in every sense of the word, every symptom that could be experienced, it was the flu. Maybe it was a super-bug, a new version of the flu that hasn't made it to diagnosis yet, who knows. Anyways, this picture was taken of Sophia on her 8th birthday. We had no party, no cake, no meal. She went from sleeping on the porch to laying on the couch and back and forth all day. She has had no appetite and has lost at least 4 pounds. Thankfully, today her fever has stayed away. Her appetite is returning, and soon she will be eating birthday cake. She may even get to go to school tomorrow!
Meanwhile, with our animal family, the midnight marauder has been coming around. It was getting into our chicken feed, got around our first solution (a container with a locking lid) - we brought the food up onto the porch and locked it up. Sunday night, it pulled the fencing back from the frame of the babies' chicken cage and got ahold of Sissy. Here she is, the poor baby. Her toes on her left foot were all torn off at the 2nd "knuckle" - one is still hanging by a thread, and I am afraid to take it off the rest of the way. I will let nature take its course and let it fall off on its own. The varmint also got her right wing - she only has about a half inch of wing left. Luckily, no skin was broken on her body (besides the wing and foot) so, systemically she is healthy still. Her wing and foot are healing nicely, and she is eating and peeing and pooping. She also thinks that we are her mommy as we have held her in our hands since yesterday when we found her. She even got a warm bath in the sink, healing ointment on her wounds, and lots of TLC and snuggling.
We have set traps out on many occasions, but this doggone critter has been smart enough to eat the bait and not set the trap off. Last night, we tied a few bones to the inside rear panel of the cage and it worked! Here is the pesky raccoon in its defeat. My dear neighbor, Tony, picked him up a little while ago to release somewhere far, far away.
My goodness, he is so cute. Too bad he's such a trouble maker.

We are looking forward to having a better week, what with Sophia on the mend and the raccoon gone. Maybe we'll even get some sleep tonight!

Love to all...

Hooray for rain!! Please keep coming!!

Dannyism

So our family has been fighting a nasty virus that acts just like the flu. First Olivia had it, then Dad, then Sophia. During the night last night, litte Danny started with the chills and coughing. I was talking to him about it this morning, and here was his response: "Actually, Mom, I am feeling kinda better. Except my brain is still kinda like umm frozen."

Alrighty then.

Test post

This is a really cool thing that Blogger is doing! I can send blog updates using my cell phone!! Fun stuff. Technology today.

One More Greeting

Happy Easter from my chicken coop to yours! : )

Baby Surprise Jacket

Elizabeth Zimmerman is a knitting design genius! She came up with a way to knit a baby sweater, shaping and all, knitting back and forth with very minimal seaming. When it is finished (before seaming) it looks like this:
Here is the back - so simple yet so beautiful:

The seam is the tops of the arms/shoulders. Add a few pretty buttons and Voila!

The yarn I used was Knit Picks Imagination, in Damsel. It is a hand-dyed merino/alpaca/nylon blend. It is so soft and the colors so rich, it turns an ordinary gift into something that is quite luxurious.

Happy Easter from Our Family to Yours!!!

300th Post!!!!

I want to thank you all for sticking with me, for reading this blog and coming back! This is my 300th post and I am so happy to have this venue for sharing my life. I feel like I am overflowing with love and joy and I want it to spill over and flow into your world.

Peace and Love to you Always!

"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you: the LORD turn his face to you and give you peace." Num 6:24-26

Because I needed caffeine today....

I thought about calling my DH while he's running errands in town to bring me one of those famous fast food chain iced coffees, but I thought I'd forgo all the artificial stuff and make my own.

Next time you get a hankering for a cold coffee drink, try one of these. Yum!

You will need:

*instant espresso powder

*sugar

*cinnamon

*vanilla

*whole milk

*ice

Bring a half cup of water to a boil. In a tall glass, add 2 heaping t of espresso powder, 2 heaping t sugar, a dash of cinnamon and a couple of drops of vanilla. Pour boiling water into glass and still till dissolved. Add enough ice to bring the liquid level to half the glass, stir till ice is melted and coffee is cool. Pour milk into glass and leave a little room for more ice. Pop a straw in and try not to down it all in one shot!

Enjoy!

Love to you!

Beef, Baby

One of the wonderful blogs I follow is having a giveaway - stop by and check it out! The prizes are a $100 gift card and 3 cook books. Don't forget to peruse the blog, fun stuff! ; )

Posole

Posole
One bag of pork for carnitas (+/- 3 pounds) or a pork roast
3-4 large dried pasilla chiles (available in the hispanic section of the spice aisle)
1 36.5 oz. can each, yellow and white hominy
beef bouillon
garlic
oregano
1-2 c cabbage, shredded
1/2 c onions, chopped
cilantro
limes
optional avocado and radish

In a slow cooker, the morning you plan to make posole, salt and pepper the pork, add some garlic and oregano (1 t each), and set on low for several hours or on high for a few. You can also cook in a pressure cooker - same ingredients, but add a c of water and a bit of beef bouillon and when the pressure regular begins to rock gently, cook at pressure for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add water to your soup pot, at least 2/3rds full. Slit open the pasilla chiles and remove seeds and stems. Add to the water along with a couple of T of beef bouillon powder, a few dashes oregano, and a couple of cloves of garlic, minced. Taste broth and add a bit of salt to your liking. Bring mixture to a simmer. When chiles are soft and rehydrated, add them to a blender with a ladle full of the broth and puree. Pour back into broth (you can strain it if you want). Drain hominy and add to the pot. Remove meat from crock pot or pressure cooker and chop in to bite sized pieces, add to the pot. I always add some of the rich pork drippings to the soup, as well. Heat through.
Prepare your vegetables - shredded cabbage, chopped onions, cilantro, avocado, radishes, and lime wedges. Serve along side the soup as a garnish.
Enjoy!!!

Haven't done this in a while!

Here's what my family is eating this week:

Sunday: BBQ
Monday: oatmeal, leftovers from Sunday
Tuesday: eggs and toast, posole (my most favorite meal in the world!)
Wednesday: smoothies, pork chops, mashed potatoes, and veggie (OR leftover posole)
Thursday: cereal, chicken stir fry on brown rice
Friday: oatmeal, pasta with Italian sausage

Littlest Pet Shop

We got 8 baby Amauracanas at the feed store yesterday! Aren't they beautiful? They are the same breed as our little hen, Rosalina. They are also known as Easter Eggers. All hens, their names are (in the pic, from left to right, top row first) Lemony, Sissy, Clairy, Sammy, Chicle, Bandit, Lulu, and Bailey. When they grow up, they will lay blue and green eggs. Welcome, Babies!