Stephanie

I'm constantly finding these good things and then losing them...so decided to list them here, y'all might find them interesting and maybe I'll do better at keeping up with them. I'll add more as I find them. http://survivallady.com/ http://thesurvivalistblog.blogspot.com/ http://allaboutfoodstorage.com/ http://www.shelfreliance.com/ http://lds.about.com/library/bl/faq/blcalculator.htm Visit My Website Four thieves Positively Prepared

One of the best tools that i have found in teaching my children is to do so in varied environments and in such a casual way, that they have no idea they are being taught something. FUNSCHOOL! We often have Pool School , going over rote memory things like math facts, etc... Yesteday we had one of our Walk -n- Talks. We walk all around the yard, the pond, etc... and talk as we go. The subject of our discussion yesterday was the word OBSERVANT and what it means and how it is done. We'll work on this a lot more. I've been thinking about it a lot since the thread that MtRider recently started. We played a couple of games. Everyone look all around, now close your eyes and see who can answer this question??? Then I'd say, how many bikes are laying on the ground instead of standing up ?? or such as that... Worked pretty well. Then we talked about not just looking close around us but looking as far as our eyes could see. Another game developed from that. I am not an observant person, so this was a good exercise for me as well. Hopefully we all learned to be more Observant.

One of the things that I've struggled with as I've tried to buy bulk foods like grain, dried beans, rice, etc... was that once it was packed away in the opaque white buckets, I couldn't easily 'see' it nor access it. When I bought the grains for grinding, I ordered the Gamma Lids. These are going to work well. However, all of these white buckets filled with assorted stuff would kind of run together. Even with my best efforts to keep the Steel Cut Oatmeal separate from the pinto beans and even though I clearly labeled with black markers...it was just an aggravation to go and find it. I found myself using the stuff I hadn't put away yet because I could see it, grab it and not search for it. Call me lazy but I will declare myself busy! Anyway, I think I've finally found my solution. http://www.amazon.com/Iris-NMP-M-Premium-A.../ref=pd_sim_k_2 They arrived today and I'm very pleased. They are clear, so I can easily see what they hold and how much. They are air tight which keeps it nice and fresh and any intruders out. They are on wheels, this is a real bonus and convenience. They are FDA approved, making them safe for food storage. They are on sale at Amazon (buy 3 get 4) plus they qualified for free super savers shipping. They hold a LOT! One of them held TWO 20lb bags of Jasmine Rice! I am a happy prepper girl, and I think this will encourage me to properly rotate. I can still use the buckets (and will do so for the grains) but, I can transfer what I'm ready to start using. Just thought I'd share my discovery so that it may help someone else.

We'll be making tortillas today. There are so many of us that it involves a LOT of rolling. So, I just ordered a Tortilla Press (cast iron) from Amazon. It says it is for corn and flour tortillas, so I guess we shall see. I still haven't opened my Grain Mill either!! But, I will someday! Be sure to let us know about your experience with it!!

I just saw the quilt MomM and also had read the comments about it. I know she must be blown away. This is your Ministry and you excel at it. Tell M that I will be praying for his knee trouble.

While we were out in the goat yard sitting in the shade yesterday I taught my four youngest children the Rules of Three for survival. This led to much discussion and learning. You can only survive 3 seconds without thinking ( discussed why panicking is counter productivein any and every emergency or crisis) 3 minutes without breathing (discussed crawling under smoke, wearing masks, etc...) 3 hours without shelter ( discussed different types of shelter - not to hide in the house during a fire for instance) 3 days without water (discussed why water was more important than food) 3 weeks without food (explained how this varies, but that food is NOT the most important prep) We all discussed preps not on this list, like protection, stealth, hugging a tree, etc... I found this article that also adds, 3 months without hope. http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/sur...rule-of-threes/

It's this heat that is zappin our energy!! Good heavens it is hot!! This weekend I need to replant some cucumber plants and cilantro that didn't make it.

I really like navy beans and use them a variety of ways but haven't heard of this recipe. Is it yours? I like Navy Bean Soup (always make it with a ham bone when I have it). I love White Chili, which you can use Navy Beans or Great Northerns for. You know we make jokes about our beans and bullets, but they really are valuable!

Wow! That was a night to remember and what a great idea about the Ice Cream Party! I'm so sorry that the family lost their home, but so thankful they weren't in it when it happened. That's downright scary!

Pecking order! Chickens take this QUITE seriously. One way to try to get them to adjust to each other is to slip the little ones in while the older ones are roosting (bedded down) for the night. Chickens get quite lethargic during that time. Sometimes when they wake up. Also you can make a doorway/hole in their smaller cage that is ONLY big enough for them to get in and out, then they can come out when they're feeling brave and run in and hide when they are feeling threatened.

I've never had a Radish Sandwich before, but it surely sounds delish! And the radishes are gorgeous!

One of my little ones (5yr old ds) has a Favorite Shirt - It says "My favorite Color is Dirt"! He's REALLY into gardening, he loves loves loves it! All of my children enjoy it, but he and my oldest ds14 are the ones who just can't seem to get enough.

Today is Tuesday. Since Henry went to a four day work week several months ago, Tuesday is the beginning of our week days. Since Monday's are now a part of our three day weekends, I never dread Monday's like I use to. I find that I'm enjoying Tuesday's as well. I try to never schedule anything on Tuesday and just stay home and do what needs to be done after three days of projects, chores, errands, shopping,etc... It's revolutionized our life style and I am so thankful that Henry's company has given him the opportunity. So, today I'm here and seeing about my broody hen, milking my nanny goat, tidying my house, sipping on coffee, considering what we'll eat for supper and loving every minute of it. Wednesday night brings church activities, Thursday evening brings Puppy Training Classes, and then Friday is the night that we drive to the Camp grounds and see my dh and two oldest ds's inducted into the Fronteirsmen. So today, the only day we're here from waking to sleeping, you couldn't get me to budge out of my own little corner of the world. I really need to do some hair cutting, I always procrastinate doing that. So, I've told myself that when I've done the three youngest boys, I'll reward myself by jumping in the pool and get some refreshing exercise. I'm still struggling with running out of hours before I run out of things to do, but I'm not complaining. I see progress being made in most areas and my children are well fed, taught, trained and cared for. That's the priority in my life. It seems like they are growing up so fast. My second oldest son passed my in height (talledr than my oldest ds) and now he's like 3 inches towering over me!! I did a thread on Rag Rugs in the Forums and I am so excited about the possibility of doing this. I think it seems simple enough that even I can't mess it up! Plus it is very frugal and recycles old worn out clothes! How cool is that! Just jabbering, so I'll go for now. I hope you are enjoying your Tuesday!

When my dh (or kids) pull something like that on my, I feel like running through the house yelling "SABOTAGE!". (Sometimes I do). I don't know why you can sit down, discuss a problem, work out a plan together and yet... I guess we just don't think alike? You're doing great! less than $100 so far, very nice!

Just went to the ortho today for my hip Said the same thing about the pool, go for it Angela, I'm going to !!

I enjoyed that so much Judy! I would love to see that picture of your mom some time.

I am soooo dierctionally challenged, I have to drive it myself or I have no idea where I'm going (and that doesn't always work!) This week I've been teaching my children lots of stuff (and learning it right alon with them). Oldest ds and I are perfecting the skill of making Dinner Rolls from scratch (not grinding the grain *yet*). He is so excited to make them for my mom when he's visiting there in a few weeks. They rival the O'charley's yeast rolls! Wow! BTW he is 14 . I should add that he is using the Bread machine to process the dough, but he knows eventually we will want to do that ourselves as well. He still has to measure properly, follow directions carefully, clean up after himself, figure out times to know WHEN (good practice for him), work with fractions and ratios to determine how many rolls per batch and per person, be attentive and focused when dealing with the oven, patience while waiting for the rising,etc... These are all issues that he needs improvement in and it's working like a charm. He's a child who likes to go directly from point A to point Z without all the steps in between. This has been a great challenge in math processes, I once told him that math had recipes too and some steps just have to be followed. So, I'm pleased to see that he is taking step by step to accomplish these delicious rolls.

I organized my buckets so that all the beans are in one place, the oats in one place and the rice, popcorn, pasta, flour likewise. I think this will increase the chances of our rotating properly. I cooked something new - Minnesota Wild Rice (Serendipity sent me) in my new Rice Cooker (HSMom sent me). A big thank you to the two of them!! We ate part of the rice with some General Tso chicken and the rest of it is now in a pot becoming a chicken and rice soup. I still haven't checked out my consignment shop in the area (new) I should do that tomorrow! Thanks for the reminder!

I'm so glad that you stopped and rambled a bit! Good news that the surgery went well!

When I started really changing the way I buy groceries, Lunch Meat was one of the challenges (still is to some degree). We also did some tuna and increased Peanut Butter. We even tried Spam and Potted meat (from emergency stores) now and then. What I ended up doing was changing the way we ate lunch. It was very frustrating as it seemed nothing was as easy as a sandwich. Now, we have sandwiches with good lunch meat as a special treat on the weekends. It's just not regular fare any more. Instead, we do a lot more soups during the week. Once every couple of weeks we have Ramen Noodles and a homemade vegie soup from my dehydrated foods. We also eat refried beans on a regular basis with our homemade tortillas, often once a week. Sometimes we have pancakes at lunch (from my stored pancake mix) since dh doesn't care for pancakes. This has been a big adjustment for us, more time in the kitchen for me, more thinking ahead, etc... Sounds like you're adjusting well. Keep it up!

Yum!! Fresh Peaches! I'm jealous! I haven't harvested these yet ... but... I counted a dozen figs on my new fig tree!! Now if the birds just don't harvest them before me.... Our fruit trees are struggling, but we're still in hopes to get a few of the plums, apples and peaches. Keeping our fingers crossed. We had a few strawberries, but one day the goats got out.... Dh and the boys just found another wild Blackberry patch (and a snake :0 ) while working near the creek and expanding the goat yard. So, maybe we'll harvest them soon.

Nice gift! Good Prep!

Hang in there Angela and keep us posted!

Next month will be two years since our family grew from four children to seven. It was quite the adjustment, let me tell you. Not only did have MORE children but now we had two girls, talk about a change in family dynamics! Oh my! Here they were , these three little children who had been in an environment that would make you and I shudder. They had a different set of values, morals, priorities, opinions, outlooks, lifestyle...I could go on but I think you've got the picture. It has not been easy, it has been hard, it still is sometimes. But, today, as I was checking out these pictures of the three of them in the garden this weekend I noticed the grins. We'd just gotten out of the pool, and their hair is a mess, wearing old clothes to work in the garden. But the light in their eyes demanded to be captured and recorded. When they first stepped out of the Social Workers vehicle, they had eyes full of apprehension, hearts gripped with grief, as their world was turned upside down. Everything that they knew that was familiar to them stripped away. The baby boy (3 at the time) had been in foster care from birth and all he wanted was his mommy (foster mommy). If you ever wondered to what depth a 3 yr old can grieve, let me tell you, it is heartbreaking to watch. The girls had to be un-taught before I could even begin re-teaching. This new way of living was not embraced readily. They had been allowed to do pretty much whatever they wanted, there is a lot of freedom in dysfunction, even if it wasn't safe or healthy. Anyway,I wanted to show you these pictures and let you see how the garden of their souls have flourished. God has wrought a good work in their lives. All He asked is for our willingness to be used. I have to throw this out there, don't be afraid to say YES to the Lord if he's asking you to love a child, just because of a difference in skin color or just because you already have a housefull or just because there will be tremendous challenges. It's all worth it, when you're Growing Grins!