Busy Days and Chickens!

Wow....central Indiana, particularly the county in which I live, received a tremendous amount of rain yesterday, last night and into this morning. The county road in front of us was completely flooded and our front yard, up to and surrounding our house, was also flooded. It was up to knee height in some areas. I'm not sure if the water got into the cars or not, the water was up to the hub cabs at about 2 a.m. when I remembered that we keep one of our doggies in the crate in the garage. I ran out there barefooted (because I couldn't find my rainboots at 2 a.m....) and rescued poor little Bella who was standing in about 2 inches of very cold water. She is a pug/beagle mix. She spent the night very happily tucked into her crate in our living room close to Annie puppy (who has never had a sleep over before!) and an irritated Precious (over 15 years old....and not in the mood for a sleep over....). OH....she's a dog, not a kid.

We didn't get any water in our house, thank the Lord, but we were really worried about the girls' bedroom that used to be the attached garage. Our neighbors got a few inches in their house/converted attached garage.

The rainwater is slowly subsiding but the public schools here have closed for the day. Unfortunately for Israel and Becca, no such luck for our homeschool academy....

Sooo....I am baking cupcakes for the "end of the homeschool co-op" school year celebration tonight (which I can't go to because I am hosting a wedding shower for my niece Heidi.) I'm also making cupcakes for the shower.

But first, before the shower and celebration night, we are going to go get our chickens!! They will be black and white....but I can't remember the exact name of them. I will have to write it down from the breeder so that I can tell you what they are.....Anyway, we are getting six, I think, to start with. We are keeping them for pets and for eggs! I can't wait!! All of my adult life (and it has been a fairly long time at this point....especially with a very big birthday coming up on Monday.......ahem......old age.....) and I just can't wait to get them! They are about 7 weeks old.

So, busy busy day today and I need to go get things done!

Blessings,
Beth Bower
p.s.....does anyone have an ark???? But perhaps the rain has stopped for the day???

A WONDERFUL SURPRISE!!!

Last night, 20 year old Jennie (who has recently returned from England from a 2 month visit with her boyfriend and his family...) supposedly took birthday girl Becca (whose 16th birthday is today!!) out to eat and for shopping. I called and asked if I could meet them in the next town for frozen yogurt. "YES!" they both agreed!

So...about 1/2 hour or so later, I walked in and over to them. We chatted for a moment when I realized that there was a little bit of commotion behind me........

THERE, WALKING TOWARD ME, WITH A GRIN FROM EAR TO EAR......WAS MY DAUGHTER, MARCI AND HER HUSBAND, BEN!! They moved to Seattle in early August. This whole thing had been planned for months and no one gave up the secret!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!! Jennie had even driven to the airport and through rush hour traffic around Indianapolis to pick them up. THAT in itself is a miracle or at the very least, a true act of love. Jennie hates to drive. She absolutely despises to drive,  especially in traffic!!

I was so surprised and excited!! I was also filmed....oh what a dork I looked like!! But it was ok...my kids were there and I was sooo happy!! The yogurt place will never be the same. It was really crowded and everyone was staring. But soon the whole room was filled with smiling faces as they figured out what was going on.

We are going to go together to look at wedding dresses for a wedding that will very likely occur in the fall/winter??? Jennie and her man Chris will most likely marry and she will eventually move to England.
I had JUST talked to Marci yesterday about how sad I felt that she could not go with us to look at dresses. She supposedly was in Target in Seattle but she was actually in the Chicago airport.

I HAVE RAISED A FAMILY OF LIARS.  VERY NICE LIARS, BUT LIARS ALL THE SAME! I JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW THEY ALL GOT SO GOOD!!  Everyone in our family except the younger kids and Roger and I knew about the surprise. Even my parents knew.

A LIGHT BULB JUST TURNED ON IN MY HEAD. MY CHILDREN MUST HAVE GOTTEN THE LIAR GENE FROM MY PARENTS!

Blessings!
Beth

Adopting.....Again???

Saturday evening, Roger, Israel and I came home after our usual afternoon of  our Costco "Date."
Israel....and Roger.....think it is just the best thing to get to sample different food there...AND from a "recovering" orphan's point of view, after all those early years of starvation, anywhere they give you FREE samples of yummy food HAS to be good! I'm not sure what Roger and my excuse is....
ANYWAY, when I got home, I got on the computer to check my email. Most of the time, I don't open general email newsletters from the original adoption agency we had first started with. But this time I did.

After the usual requests for donations for their African Children's Homes, there was a list of waiting children.
In that list.....a year later.....remains the little girl we were referred at the same time was said YES to Israel's adoption. It was one of the hardest things ever to know that in accepting Israel, we were denying this little girl a chance to have a home with Christian parents who would love her. It would have been nearly impossible at the time to have taken her...as much as we wanted to. We still had that big house to sell that had that equally big mortgage and upkeep on it. We didn't have the money. We would also NOT have gotten Israel....one of the best little people in the world! (To his Mommy, anyway!) We knew it was God's will...we had to pray that God would show us what to do. We are happy/thrilled that we have Israel but that little girl has remained in my thoughts EVERY day for a year now. I kept telling myself that someone had adopted her...she was happily placed in a loving home...but sadly, that has not been the case.

She had been abandoned at the home of a Ugandan official and nothing is really known about her. She is approximately 4 years old now...and "chubby." JUST THINK OF IT!! ISRAEL WAS 4 WHEN HE CAME TO THE UNITED STATES AND ONLY WEIGHED 22 POUNDS! This little girl is being passed over now because she is 4 and CHUBBY! What a blessing that she is being cared for and has had plenty to eat! Her little brain has all the needed fats to develop properly! She is considered "too old" as well. I think a four year old little girl is just perfect. (I'm too old for a little baby. I like my sleep.........) Besides, I'M CHUBBY!!! I DO CHUBBY REALLY WELL!!

So anyway, we are in the process of figuring out just what needs to be done to get her. I have contacted the agency who is in charge of her and have called the agency who did our homestudy to adopt Israel. We do need to start from the beginning for parts of the paperwork.
OH....AND THEN THERE IS THE WHOLE ISSUE OF MONEY...YEAH, IT TAKES AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF MONEY.
I'm going to start working on grants and loans and looking into fundraisers. Israel's adoption was really fairly inexpensive since he was already in the United States by the time we "found" him.

We have absolutely no way of paying for this and we realize that IF God wants us to get her, it has to be done by Him. He is pretty "weird" sometimes, by our perspective. (And I say that in the utmost respect...but really, He works things out in strange and weird ways sometimes, doesn't He?)
I think we are going to move forward on this. We have no guarantees that we can adopt her and it is possible that someone may adopt her before we do...which would still be wonderful for her, except that I want her to learn about Jesus from her family. If God wants this, He will make a way. We just have to have some faith. Oh.....did I tell you??? Her name is .... Faith.

Blessings,
Beth

I was so happy to be able to spend time with 4 of our 6 grandkids this past weekend. Aaron, my oldest child, and his gorgeous wife Holly, asked if our little guy, Israel, could spend the weekend with them! Israel was just thrilled! I did go to their house to babysit on Saturday night because they had a fund raiser/awareness event to go to about human trafficking. Anyway, then Israel stayed all night again and we went to their church to pick him up. I LOVED seeing the family! I get to see Holly and Brody a little bit more during the week since I babysit Brody on Tuesdays and that is always nice!

After church I drove a few more miles and visited policeman Dan and his adorable family, Erin, Liam, and Parker. I got a quick hug from Danny as he headed out for his shift as Mr. Policeman but could spend a little more time with his pretty wife and adorable boys!
I was, as always, so impressed at the cleanliness of my two daughters in law's homes! They are not big or fancy, but so comfortable and pleasant! Everything was just as tidy as it could be! It puts me to shame!

One thing I have noticed is that they are very good at eliminating clutter. Without lots of clutter around, it is much easier to maintain their homes! We are overwhelmed with clutter in our home!

Why must we have so much STUFF???? I really want to have a simpler lifestyle but it just seems like our STUFF gets in the way!

This is something we really want to work on this year...eliminating so much STUFF!!

Yesterday was a warm day here in central Indiana and my hubby Roger and I walked around our little "Homestead" planning out our gardens, a chicken coop, and a little goat shed and fence. (He STILL is under the impression that I am going to milk the goats....poor Roger........so naive.....I keep telling him that it is very unlikely that I am going to be milking the goats! Maybe we just shouldn't have goats????)
I'm going to call a landscape company and order some compost to be delivered SOON!! OH WOW I AM EXCITED!

I'll post some pictures as soon as I can figure out where they were stored on my computer. Sometimes I really hate being so dum.  I mean, dumb.

What do you do when one of your precious ones begins to doubt/wonder about Christianity? I am here with a heavy heart today.

I feel like such a failure yet I know that many young people need to "find their way" instead of just following the faith of their parents. It is a struggle for me right now...wondering what I did wrong, what could I have done differently, how much of this is my fault, did I push too hard??

Don't get me wrong, this person is still just as wonderful and obedient as ever...just being honest about struggling with faith and it makes me sad and worried.

I remember myself as a young person just wanting God to "leave me alone"....and I am so happy that He didn't. My life could have turned out differently though, if I had heeded His voice all along. I am grateful that He came after me and brought me back to Him.

I know that He has promised that He won't leave a lamb who strays alone. I just hope He holds my little lamb very close.

Blessings,
Beth

Money Saving Ideas!

As a Mom of nine kids....six of them mine and three of the step-children, I have a LOT of people to buy for at Christmas time. Four of those 9 are married, three have children. One has a VERY significant young man in her life. We are up to six grandkids now!
So, at Christmas time, it is REALLY difficult to actually buy for everyone on our list. That is something we both want to do...continue to give something fairly nice to each of our loved ones.

I always buy early for the next year, starting in January. This year, I have MOST of it done already and it is just February! What a blessing it is to me to know that I have nice gifts for everyone already! If I have to stop now and buy no more, it will be ok! I have been able to go to Kohl's Department store and buy things on clearance sale. They ALSO often have "Kohl's Cash" that they give when you spend a certain amount of money. I was able to buy clearance, I had a 30% off coupon AND I got Kohl's Cash to spend THIS week.
My receipt said that I saved nearly $1000 and I spend about $200...and got $40 in Kohls Cash.

I have come across another money saving idea though, last week. Target has promotions that if you buy a certain product, or sets of products, you get a gift card in return! I only buy the things that are really on sale...not just a gimmick sale... So far, I have six $5 gift cards just waiting for a time closer to Christmas to finish buying Christmas presents! I will continue to watch for those deals and then just save them until I can use them for toys for the grandkids, Israel, and things for our teenagers.
Last week, they had a promotion that if you buy 10 selected items from Mexican or Italian foods, you got a gift card.(Everything was on sale as well....) So I figured out which items I had coupons for (Ragu), and bought them. Then, I figured which items would be the least expensive (pasta) and bought ten of them. They also had taco shells at a really good price....bought some of those as well! THEN....over in the cereal department, they had certain General Mills cereals on sale for $2.50. I had to buy five of those and got the $5.00 gift card. (I had coupons...of course...) Our teenagers eat a LOT of cereal, pasta, etc....so it makes sense to go ahead and buy them to have on hand. If I don't get a really good deal, I then can go to Aldi's to make those purchases...
Having enough storage space DOES become a problem...we may have to have a few things sitting on counters for a little while...but we are used to that!

There are also ideas bouncing around in my head for home made Christmas presents. I'm trying to get a head start on them so that I don't feel overwhelmed in December. I know, I'm kind of strange...I think about Christmas 12 months of the year!

Anyway, I just wanted to give a few examples of ways to save money AND get a good deal in return.

Have a lovely day!
Beth

Pictures and Stuff like that!!

Our little puppy Annie continues to do very well after near death from parvo. Goodness...it was so bad and that little black wiggly thing almost died. The vet really didn't know if she would make it or not but she is BACK........MORE wiggly than ever and rotten....rotten...rotten!!! (But still wonderful and believe it or not, relatively obedient for a 14 week old puppy!) We are teaching her new tricks...the newest one is to "leave it"....she has to sit or lay and we put a treat about 4 or 5 inches away and she has to "leave it" until we tell her to take it. (Even then, she doesn't take it and actually waits until we hand it to her!) Someone should do that to me with brownies...only don't ever tell me I can take it....that might help me a bit.

Wow...it is suddenly snowing really hard and heavy. It is coming straight down down like rain!! It would be nice if it would stick a little bit! I have a few "snowy days" stories I would like to read to Israel and having snow on the ground would make it even better! (See the pictures BELOW...taken after I started this post...)

Speaking of stories, I have recently come across "Five in a Row" materials. I can't believe that I have been involved in homeschooling for several years now and I have never known about it!
For anyone who has never heard of it, the parent/teacher reads a childhood classic to the student for 5 days in a row...thus the name "Five in a Row." Each day, you concentrate on a different aspect of the story. For instance, we have been reading "Madeline" this week. Israel is happy with the rhyme and repetition of that story and the illustrations are interesting as well. From that book, we have then studied Paris, France, the buildings in Paris, "order and symmetry", being "unique", compassion, the flag of France, the continent of Europe, etc.......

Israel is really interested in these books and this style of learning. For each book we read and study, he is making a kind of  lapbook and putting them in a binder. ( I have notebook dividers that I found in our stash of stuff and I have had him use two of these to make each story's "lapbook." Some stories we have added a vertical piece of stiff paper to the dividers and taping it at the top so that it can flip up for additional work/fun!)

He is learning so much and we are both enjoying this. (We had been doing First Grade History with a well known Christian publisher and we were both incredibly bored! What freedom and fun this has brought to our homeschool!)

I highly recommend Five in a Row if you know of anyone who could use it!

 This was our rapid snowfall....and then it ended as soon as it started! Israel, Annie, and "Foxy"-Annie's toy all went for a walk in the snow in the front yard.

 This is just a cool picture (I thought) of an old wagon wheel and a bush on the side of our house with a light layer of snow.

 Baby Annie!!! It is REALLY hard to get this little puppy to hold still for a picture! Doesn't she look like a black baby bear?

 These are our two raised bed that I have been babying along this fall and winter! Every time it is a fairly nice day, I try to add some more "ingredients" to the soil. I have been layering composted cow manure, some soil, and decomposing yard waste. It looks pretty good now but I guess the real test will be during growing season, right?

This is kinda funny....kinda. See that old roll of fencing between Israel and the raised bed? That fence has so far cost me $510.  You see...I was on my way to buy that old grungy fence that it's previous owner did not want. I was buying it for $10 and it is my plan to fence in the garden area...to keep out the deer that may venture out of the woods behind our house..... Then....the deer with the death wish ran into my new car. After the deductible, that old nasty fence will have cost us $510. Ok...go ahead, laugh.  This is the story of my life! EVERY TIME  I think, "I am NOT going to pay a professional to do such and such....I can do it myself!"...it ends up costing me more in the long run. Don't even ask me about the wedding dress I was making for myself...the ONLY part of the wedding dress that ended up in our wedding was a tiny bit of lace that I wrapped around our Unity candle!! HAHA!!! I ended up buying a pretty suit dress from JCPenney instead! (I looked like a fat blue mermaid in the dress I was trying to make! SERIOUSLY!!)

Have a lovely day...take care!!
Blessings!
Beth