Happy Valentines Day!

Let us always greet each other with a smile, for a smile is the beginning of love.  ~mother teresa

    I have recently failed strongly in this area and it is not something I like to admit to. I desire to be a soul who uplifts, who is easy going and seems I got a bit of work to do.

For it was not into my ear that you whispered but into my heart; it was not my lips that you kissed but my soul.  ~judy garland

   Many years ago, this month in fact, me and my beloved were united as one to brave a world TOGETHER from that day forth. It has not always been easy and it still isn't easy but our love story gets more beautiful as time passes along.

Love is like a beautiful flower which I may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same.   ~hellen keller

   This reminds me of a text my beloved and I shared just the other day:  I received a text that stated: You are the jam in my jelly roll.  As I search my busy mind trying to find something that would top his sweet expression of love for me, I came up with this:  You are the sun in my sky!  To which, he quickly responded.... WHAT IF IT'S DARK?   The fact is, the sun is still there even when it is dark you just can't see it.

YOUR 

PRETTY 

MUCH

MY

MOST 

FAVORITE

IN

THE

HISTORY

 OF

ALL 

TIME

EVER.

*my knight

Years ago we lived across the street from a very sweet young family. Some families are DIY families, some aren't. It doesn't make one better or worse than the next. Ang herself use to say, "we are the family who buys the service agreement with each purchase." (this post is all about how awesome my husband is.. just sayin) My dear husband grew up in a home with a father who was and still is, a fixer of most anything! He didn't fall far from the tree!

We stay pretty busy around here, don't get me wrong - we have ample down time as well for leisure too.  It does seem like there is always something that needs to be done with this blessed property whether it be tree maintenance, fence mending or building animal shelter of sorts.

There isn't much that my dear husband can't do and for that I am truly grateful!  He really amazes me more often than not.  If we were to add money back into our budget based on the repairs, work etc he does for our homestead, it would be huge.  This ability to do most things or to research to find out how to do things and have the precision to carry it out really is a gift that has been instilled in him.  Trust me. I have built tried to build a nesting box for our rabbits in the past. I measured. Marked. Cut carefully but somehow I just don't have what it takes to produce a nice looking end product.

Whatever it is that your dearly beloved excels in, praise him for it. It may be that he is the chief handler of your finances for the family or perhaps he is a great help around the inner working of how your household operates, or maybe he is the master gardener, whatever it is make sure you don't take him for granted.  When you are reading folks blogs, looking at their FB or the old fashioned talking to a friends who are sharing about their husbands strong points, don't compare.  I think comparing is a huge NO-NO, this only leaves us with a feeling of coming up short when that is not the case at all.  Unfortunately I did it for years because I wanted my husband to "look" like other husbands and fathers "in the church", this was not productive for either of us. Shame on me. Bottom line is those people you are comparing to aren't who and what you think they are. While they are probably fine people, they too have flaws - some you may not see.  I couldn't be less concerned with what other people think of my husband now because most don't "know" him, so shame on those who judge him.  It isn't that my husband has developed into a different person although as time has passed he has grown and changed, it really is more about me having changed.  Whatever it is your husband lacks, or is bad at there must be a number of redeeming qualities you can put your focus on, so you can see your knight in shinning armor through a different pair of lenses.

 He is not perfect, but he is perfect for me. The Lord has really blessed our marriage and we make a great team!

 

*chick inn residents increasing soon

This photo was taken with my phone *sigh*, these little chicks are about a week old in this picture. We picked up 8 chicks from the hatchery in Alabama last month and these little girls look nothing like they did when we first brought them home and added them to the chicks that Rebel hatched out that very weekend.

This however, is one of our two Bronze Broad Breasted Turkeys that we acquired this week. This is the gift that my dh and I gave to each other for our anniversary, a pair of turkeys and a Wynadotte chick along with a watering system for our large gardens.  We are content to do this instead of a individual gift for each other at this time in our lives. What is most important to us is that we are knitted together, that we love each other and enjoy being in each others company.   One of the things that has knitted us closer together is the way God has used this land we are living on and what has sprung forth from it all.  I am seeing a side of my dear husband that I have never seen before. He adores raising animals.  He is loving the farming and living off of our land as much as possible. It brings me joy to see this!

 This is one of the pretty little chicks that Rebel hatched out.  We think this one must be a cross of the Jersey Giant White rooster (Husan) and one of our Barred Rocks - either way she is a pretty girl (we hope it is a girl).

 These were all some from Rebels' hatch as well, I think I see two Barred Rocks there for sure. They are all sort of in their ugly stage right now.

 Show off. I LOVE chickens. Just sayin.

 The first three you see in the picture here are from the little hatchery in Alabama. The little buff there is going to be a Buff Orpington, then you see just beyond her one of the Welsummers, and right beyond her is the Americauna that we got on that day. The Americauna looks a bit grey, she will be much lighter than the Americauna's that we already have in our flock.

If you look just about center of the picture you will see a VERY small chick. This is the Silver Laced Wynadotte that I just couldn't live without. OK. OK, I surely could have lived without her, but am happy that she will be living among us!  I adore this breed and think they are among some of the prettiest. 


These chicks will all start laying in mid summer and I will have customers lined up by this date hopefully.  We currently have 19 hens who are laying - well most of them are laying. Rebel still hasn't gotten back in the mode of laying although she is in the mix with the other hens, but unfortunately now her sister, the other Buff Leghorn, decided she was going to go broody. We have NOT given her any eggs to hatch out as we don't really see that we NEED any more chicks at this time.   

After reading a dear blogger friend's blog, From City Streets To Country Roads, I brought our girls home a treat today -a Flock Block! I can't wait to give it to them. I will of course be ready with camera in hand to get some great shots!  The older girls will enjoy the Flock Block and the little ones will eat their grower rations for now, but soon they will catch up in size and join the others in the Chick-Inn Coop! I am hopelessly in love with chickens. What has happened to me?

*lovebirds

Today we went to the zoo in Gulf Breeze, Fl.  It is a rather small, but charming zoo and I am so glad we went.  I think my favorite spot in the zoo was this little aviary of Lovebirds. There must have been hundreds of them. 

Before I say what I am gonna say and make all of you sick, let me just preface this by saying this: I do not have a perfect life, I do not have a perfect marriage and we, like many of you have our own set of troubles in and out of time. Eric and I, like any healthy couple, have had some rough patches, but it is in those rough spots that we have drawn closer together. Or should I rephrase that and say, out of those times or though those times that we have grown closer. We are normal. (Well in a word, we are normal.)

As I was about to say, while we were at the zoo today, inside this little aviary, all I could think of was my beloved. Several lovebird couples sat on branches all about the area, kissing, adoring, doting on each other.  He is my beloved and I, his. I adore him and he, me. We are one flesh, when he hurts I hurt. When he is full of joy, so am I. As I studied the birds today it made me acutely aware of how each bird was so focused on its "mate". 

Lovebirds we were at the age of 18, lovebirds we are at the age of 40 something, lovebirds we shall be! Let your love know how much you adore, cherish, enjoy, appreciate, love and kiss him/her today!

*time well spent

I can't think of much that brings me more joy and contentment in this world that we live in besides seeing my dear husband spending quality time with our sons.  Is this not the heart of a mother!?

Eric has always enjoyed bow hunting; well I shouldn't really say bow hunting because he has not really been in a position to hunt much for years.  He has had numerous bows over the years and has always enjoyed the sport of archery. Likewise our boys have both had bows through the years...

Henry and Robby about 3 years ago with their bows

Henry had gotten a new bow for his birthday, and Robby had recently gotten his dads because Eric finally got a Matthews bow that he had been looking at for some time.  Both of our boys have pretty good aims and enjoyed spending time together shooting their bows. 

But today..

Henry was releasing arrows alongside his dad and he was thrilled! These are the moments that I cherish, moments when our kids are getting tips on aiming, pulling back, releasing etc..  It is only when time is spent that things can be passed on or taught. It is the desire of a mother's heart, and today I felt full! 

 Frayja and I sat back and took it all in, well she spent most of her time trying to alarm any of our cats that were nearby. 

*sweet temptations

Sweet temptations!

In 2003 my  darlin husband was diagnosed  with Type I (Autoimmune) Diabetes, also known as latent autoimmune diabetes.  In short, his body attacked his pancreas (thinking it was a viral strand) until it no longer works. It was very hard for him, firstly because he has always been very healthy and to a degree I think we sometimes think we are invincible.  He also has a sweet tooth. He was initially diagnosed to be a Type II diabetic, however nothing the doctors did helped him keep his blood sugar numbers where they should be.  We, as a family, removed all refined products from our cupboards. Sugar as we know it. Flour as we know it. Processed foods. Condiments. You name it, we got rid of it.  We worked very hard to keep his numbers where they needed to be and we never saw the results his body needed to be yielding for the protection of his other organs.  After a year of being treated as a Type II diabetic we finally pushed through the necessary steps to get him a referral to a specialist because he was simply not well.  Once we got him over to a specialist, he was properly diagnosed as a Type I diabetic -one who no longer has a pancreas that operates. No insulin at all to offset the sugars his body absorbed. 

Since having been diagnosed as a Type I, his life  has been more fulfilling. While he still has to not go  over board with carbs, he can pretty much eat what he wants. He now has a pancreas- an exterior pancreas.  Well that is, he has an insulin pump- we call it his "game boy".  If he should desire to eat a candy bar and drink a coke for breakfast, lunch and dinner while it would not be a wise healthy choice, he could do it. He would simply pull out his insulin pump and administer insulin through his catheter when needed.  He would never choose such reckless meals, but he might like a tasty cinnamon bun for breakfast every once in a while.

When I bake I often try to keep as many refined products out of the mix as possible. (BTW.. we did add some of the SAD items back to our cupboards) When a recipe calls for flour, I will mill wheat berries to provide the flour needed. Should the recipe call for sugar (white refined), I will use sucanat, sucanat with honey or honey itself depending on the recipe.  These changes will help the complex carbs enter into his blood stream at a slower rate.

Today we had cinnamon rolls!!  We used Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls recipe, but I did make a few changes in the ingredients. I did use fresh milled wheat for the flour, sea salt for the salt and sucanat in place of the sugar.  Warning: The recipe states that it yields for eight people. Um.. that would be some really large buns.. we turned out about eighteen LARGE buns.  This is one of the easiest recipes for cinn rolls that I have ever used. Enjoy!

 

*almost a quarter of a century

Eric and Lynne sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.. First comes love, then come marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage. You remember this childhood song don't you? It is the one we used to poke fun at our friends in lower elementary school, right?

Eric and I grew up in the same county, attended the same high school but lived our lives apart from really knowing each other up until our senior year. So I guess you could say we were high school sweet hearts. Eric and I had our first date at a Baptist Church in St. Marys, a youth event of some kind. We had a mutual friend, Kelly D. who sort of introduced us to each other and invited us to come to the youth event. Quite some time later on February 22, 1986 we were joined in marriage and as the saying goes.. the rest is history.

I imagine our marriage has been much like yours; full of joy, gladness, great memories and times of trials.  There were even some very difficult times created much by my own doing that caused me to want to throw in the towel.  God saw us through!  I don't say that lightly, I know there may be others reading this at some point who may have  had some difficult times that didn't make it through. I don't know why some make it through and why some don't.

The most rewarding times in our marriage have been these past 5 years or so.  It just keeps getting better and better.   Neither Eric nor I are perfect, but our love for each other is being perfected more day by day.   He is my beloved and I am his. 

In keeping with this theme (marriage) take a moment and go check out our home church's teachings on Marriage. You can find the series entitled "Lets Talk About Marriage" present by Michael and Laura Fletcher. We are still working on some of these concepts and teachings but working towards oneness more and more each day!

*wisdom

...and I love it!