Joy and heartbreak

It's always hard when our children learn another lesson in life. We are avid hunters and fishermen and our children know about the cirlce of life. However, it seems that every once in a while they learn about it another way.
Yesterday our kids were moving their small pool and found a garter snake. Not a big deal since last year we had 14 of them living in our house.
The reason we had 14 of them is my kids and lil sis caught a 2' long garter snake in the spring last year. Unbeknownst to us she was preggers. In august she gave birth to 13 little garter snakes. It was amazing being able to watch the birth. A couple of weeks later we found a small corn snake in our basement. That brought us up to 15 snakes in my house. Remember buddy wants to be a herpetologist and this was a dream come true for him. Good thing their mama is a country girl and is pretty laid back about critters in the house.
So, now the garter snake is in the aquarium in their room living high in the hog with tons of insects to eat.
The lesson they learned today was a little harder on them. Tater tot (5 years old) found a cedar wax wing juvenile in the yard. It had all it's feather but could not fly yet. Buddy adopted it and it stayed on his shoulder. They fed it insects and enjoyed it immensly. The heartbreaking part for them was when alley cat (that is our cats name that lives outside) grabbed the bird and ran off with it. They chased alley cat till they caught her but by then the bird was dead. Bubba cried about it and the others were very upset. It took a little while reminding them that our cat was behaving perfectly normal and took the bird since it was an easy meal.
An hour or so later the boys found another cedar wax wing juvenile and they promptly took it inside to another aquarium it could stay in. So, now they are happy once again that they have saved a bird and the cat didn't get this one.
So, over all it was a good day for them and they are happy to have critters living in their room.
My Thirsting Soul

Wonderful Wednesday

Pictures of the beauty around us that the Lord made for all to see.
I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
~Psalms 9:1

Typical Tuesday

Since we are not starting school this year till September 10th we have a pretty easy schedule.
Most days around here we do chores and then spend time outside if it is not raining.
Today however we are working on getting our basement prepped for winter. It may not seem like much but we have to finish clearing space for 2 weeks worth of wood, cleaning the fireplace and just straightening everything up down there.
It's amazing how many things have to be stored for 7 people. Talk about a crazy amount of totes. Clothing saved for the kids, school books stored for every grade and a mirade of other things you collect over time. I am going to be sorting through all of our things next week with hubby and down sizing it all. We are talking (and praying hard) that the Lord will lead us in the right direction for a new job for hubs. That would possibly mean leaving our family and a majority of our posessions behind for a year. That will be another post though.
Have a wonderful Tuesday
My Thirsting Soul

Meatless Monday

Portabella mushrooms caps with sauteed kale
At least one cap person eating them
1 bunch of kale per 2 caps, chopped
1 Tbls minced garlic
Parmesan cheese
Almond slivers
Olive oil or butter

Wash your kale and mushrooms while your grill is heating up.
Put mushroom caps on the grill for 5 minutes (roughly) on each side.
While those are cooking add enough olive oil to the bottom of a large pan or wok. Heat oil and add garlic. Saute for about a mintue and add chopped kale. Cook until slightly wilted. Add parmesan to taste. By now your mushroom caps should be done. Top caps with sauteed kale and sprinkle almond slivers over the top.
It is amazingly delicious!

*Some variations you can do is saute onions with the garlic before adding the kale. Use feta cheese instead of parmesan. Add smaller mushrooms chopped with the kale if you can't always get the mushrooms caps and serve as a side dish. Blue cheese would work as well and chopped walnuts would be perfect on top of this. Play around with your favorite ingredients and see what you can create. :)

Not everyone's cup of tea

Train up a child in the way that he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

I get asked quite often why we chose to homeschool. Well, we have several reasons. I know homeschooling may not be for everyone but these are our reasons for doing it. It has been the hardest adventure I have endevoured on yet. But it is also the biggest blessing in my life.
Having 5 children in the house 24/7 may seem like a little too much for some people. It is a bit trying at times I will admit but it is also a lot of fun. My children are my biggest helpers and playmates. We are supposed to enjoy our children being around and so many parents don't see it that way.
Reason #1 we homeschool. We have the chance to spend all the time we want with our children and have a flexible schedule. We did 2 years of public school and it was terrible. My hubs works a late shift and while the kids were in school he was sleeping. Then he left for work just before they got out of school. He was only able to see them on Friday after school, Saturday and Sunday morning. It was so very hard on all of us making sure everyone stuck to a very strict schedule. Bed by a certain time, up by a certain time, homework done by a certain time, showers done by a certain time, reading assignments done by a certain time, chores done by a certain and meals done by a certain time. You get the idea. It was a huge stress. I almost never saw my hubby because of it either.
Reason #2 we knew our children were not challenged in public school. They easily made honor roll and had perfect grades. They were bored with the school work and one of their teachers was not very organized. It was frustrating to find out what the kids needed for different things after they needed them. It always made me look inept as a parent. It just added frustrations to my life.
Reason #3 we did not feel that learning about evolution in science and nothing about creation to be a total fraud. They present darwinism as fact and leave out any other teaching. Despite proofs to the contrary and they only taught one part of evolution when in fact there are 6 and the 6th one being what everyone is taught as fact. As christians we should teach our children about creation and help strengthen their faith in a living God that is powerful enough to make something out of nothing. Mind boggling isn't it? Reason #4 we wanted our children to have a 'living' education as Charlotte Mason taught to children in England many years ago. Our children get a wide variety of subjects to learn about and are also taught how to use what they learn in daily application. How people do you know (and maybe even yourself) that finished high school, went onto college and had no clue how to handle what the professors wanted? When you learn how to study something on your own you have limitless ways of finding information since you tend to 'think outside the box'. I am not saying that is the case for everyone that comes from a public school or from being homeschooled. We all learn differently and think differently.
Reson#5 we love having our kids all the time. I am not saying don't ever spend time away. My hubby and I LOVE to catfish and doing that late at night is hard on the kids. We usually go out one night to do this and they stay with their grandparents. It is fun for hubby and I to spend time together and the kids love to be able to spend a night with their grandparents. Wins for everyone.

Our grubby brood

'The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.' Proverbs 23:24-25
Our children are pretty wise for their ages. They bring us joy and we rejoice in having them around us everyday. They have only become that way with the Lord's help and us leaning on Him to guide us in raising them.
We have 5 beautiful children that we have been blessed with. 4 boys and a little girl. What an adventure it has been to raise them all. It has been a time for us to learn so many lessons as parents and how to raise godly children.
There is something about the challenge of balancing life with children. As parents they need to be your #1 priority after God. You need to considering everything and how it will influence their lives. Because what the learn growing up will be how they are with their spouse and children.
Our oldest, whom we call Bubba, just turned 11 this year and is planning on becoming an entomologist. Since we homeschool this gives us an opportunity together as a family to learn soooooo many things about our wonderfully created world. We study creation vs evolution. I have my children learn why evolution is a faith and not fact. That sort of teaching is lacking even in private christian schools.
Our next born just turned 9, whom we call buddy, and is torn between becoming a pro bass fisherman or an herpetologist (someone who knows about reptiles). Thankfully since I grew up a tomboy I am fine with helping him catch lizards and snakes (we have very few venomous snakes here and they live several hours south of us). We love to learn about alligators and crocodiles. They are so very fascinating.
The next boy is 7, whom we call shrimp, and is still unsure what he would love to when he grows up. He talks about having a hamster farm, a chicken farm, a dog kennel or just helping his brothers with their endevours.
Our youngest boy is 5, whom we call tater tot, and just happens to be our biggest challenge. He loves to talk. All. The. Time. Even in his sleep. He always has something to tell us about whether it is real, a dream or some 'adventure' he had in the back yard. He is also the most stubborn of our children (happens I think when 2 redheads get married). The Lord has sure been teaching how to expand our patience in dealing with him.
The last of the brood is a little girl, whom we call Princess Buttercup (ya know, from the pricess bride by William Goldman). She is 2 and such a joy to have around. Already she is a big help to mama and loves to play outside with boys. She is pretty fearless and that can get scary with her trying to keep up with her brothers. She has blue eyes that just light up with her smile and is very inquisitive. We have learned though that boys are much easier to raise than girls.
So that's the whole crew. They are hardworking children who love to help us. Praise the Lord for that since we are working on being a very self sufficient family. My hubs and I (the children as well) would love to someday move to Alaska and if we did......well, this is all just training us towards that goal.
My Thirsting Soul

What I have been doing in August

A very busy summer

While I have been busy and not able to post anything new on here in a long time. I have plenty to share with all.
This year we put in a very large garden and it has kept us all busy. Between picking weeds ( a never ending battle) and picking the produce (the amount has been amazing despite a drought) we have done little else. I have been canning this year and I have not done that in a long time. I seemed to have lost the passion for it (yes, it can be a passion for some). However, this year I was not planning on any canning but honestly felt that I 'needed' to do that this year. It has been such a blessing for me to try so many new recipes and not just do the 'standard' canning recipes.
I have branched out on what I want to share with my family and have found some really great recipes online and my MIL gave me 2 new canning books. I have been wowing my children with all kinds of things that they would have never tried before. I have a couple of children not fond of any squash but they love an eggplant salsa I made and a zucchini salsa. I want to share the links I have found and maybe inspire some of you other keepers at home to try some new things if you are getting bored with canning.
List of awesome recipes:
Eggplant Salsa
http://www.sbcanning.com/2011/11/different-kind-of-salsa-eggplant.html

Balsamic Cherry Tomato Caramelized Onion Conserve
http://www.sbcanning.com/2012/06/balsamic-cherry-tomato-caramelized.html

Zucchini Salsa
http://www.sbcanning.com/2010/09/double-canning-night-fig-jam-and.html

Cowboy Jam
http://www.sbcanning.com/2011/03/tomato-jam-its-just-so-good-looking.html

Tomato Basil Jam
http://www.sbcanning.com/2011/07/more-canning-from-better-homes-and.html

Chow down pickled cabbage
http://www.sbcanning.com/2011/03/diners-drive-ins-and-dives-inspiration.html

Taco Sauce
http://www.sbcanning.com/2012/04/better-homes-and-garden-can-it-taco.html

Bread and Butter pickles
http://www.sbcanning.com/2010/07/bread-and-butter-pickles.html

Sweet pickles and Dill pickles
http://www.sbcanning.com/2012/07/pickles-sweet-and-dill-taste-of-summer.html

Salsa Jam
http://www.sbcanning.com/2011/11/canning-pepper-jam-salsa-for-breakfast.html

Cowboy Candy
http://www.sbcanning.com/2011/10/jars-of-color-cowboy-candy-more.html

Pickled cherry tomatoes
http://www.sbcanning.com/2010/10/busy-night-canning-water-bath-full-and.html

Roasted garlic pasta sauce
http://www.sbcanning.com/2012/05/roasted-garlic-pasta-sauce-your-pasta.html

Blender ketchup
http://www.sbcanning.com/2011/07/condiment-canning-ketchup-mustard.html

Italian tomato relish
http://www.sbcanning.com/2012/07/tomato-time-for-love-of-garden.html

Watermelon pickles
http://032ad8a.netsolhost.com/madmad/2012/07/11/watermelon_pickles/

Caponata
http://www.sbcanning.com/2010/08/eggplant-appetizer-caponata.html

Tomato Salsa
http://www.sbcanning.com/2011/05/lindseys-jars-of-tomato-salsa.html

Pickled Eggplant with mint and garlic
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/11/pickled-eggplant-with-mint-and-garlic.html

Amazing Pickled and Marinated Vegetables
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/amazing-pickled-and-marinated-vegetables-recipe/index.html
All of these have been tasted while i made them by me, my hubs and our kiddoes. Everyone loves them. I will make a quick note though. This year all hot peppers are really hot and if you do not like spicy foods, replace the amount with one of your favorite peppers. The ones missing pictures I either forgot to take a picture of or have not gotten to it just yet.
Enjoy and have fun with canning this year!
My Thirsting Soul

The man chosen just for me

I met this good looking guy one night while watching a couple of kids for a couple from church. My best friend told me she had someone that she wanted me to meet and I said ok. It was a couple of months before my 15th birthday and my parents weren't opposed to me courting or dating but I chose to not have a beau. Not that I didn't have any offers but just didn't want the hassle of it all and I was sort of waiting for the 'one' to show up.
My friend had a boyfriend and they had been together for about a year. He was her boyfriends best friend with my hubs and all 3 went to our churches private school. We introduced ourselves and that was the last time I saw him till I turned 15 and we didn't even talk. I had a friend visit me from the other side of the state that day and I pointed him out to her. I was too shy to say hi to him. A month later I was invited by some of my friends to attend the churches privates school senior dinner. I said sure and went by myself since I didn't need a date to attend and what girl doesn't like to dress up nice every once in a while? Being a tomboy everyone was used to me always being in casual clothes and never anything fancy unless I played piano for church.
Low and behold, I was seated at the table where he was. He had brought a friend with and she had also met me about 3 months prior at an ice cream shop. Talk about how crazy we sounded at that table that night. She was part of a Word of Life group (as was my hubs at the time but not the same one) and used to travel for competitions for it. We could not remember where we had met and asked which bible camps eachother had attended, or churches or anything that may have made us cross paths. God was sure testing our memories that night. After a couple of hours of talking we figure out we had met at a little ice cream shop after I was coming home from church and she had just finished a meeting for Word of Life. We have been friends ever since but back to my hubs.
While my friends I chatted my hubs and I spoke briefly to eachother since we were very shy and liked the other one very much. After everything was over that night I knew for some reason I needed to see him again and asked for his number. Not something I normally did but my mom was there and said no way. I was fine with that even though he looked disappointed she said no. I asked my mom if I was allowed to write to him and she said that was fine.
We exchanged addresses and wrote for a month before he asked me to be his girlfriend. I said yes and we dated for 2 years before our parents decided we needed to stop. It was heartbreaking but we both knew we had no choice. There is a story behind their decision but I rather not tell it. We had started to behave in a way that we shouldn't and it was causing issues with our families and it was the best decision.
2 years go by as we dated a few other people and became adults with responisbilities. My parents divorced when I was 18 and my brother started to hang out with my hubs again. I am not sure how they got in contact again but I was certainly surprised to see him. We saw eachother occassionally over the next year as I was busy with 2 jobs and an apartment and he had 2 jobs as well. We dated for a brief time but I was actually not sure if we should be together. It was a time of many mixed emotions.   
After a year of this we decided to start dating again. That started in May and by December (2 months after he had joined the Army Reserve) we were married.
We have had our ups and downs, trials and tribulations, good times and bad times, tests from the Lord that we have failed and have had to try again to learn our lessons till we succeeded together, sicknesses and health, fights (and I have learned that most of those were my fault by not keeping my mouth closed and prayer about it instead), blessings and at the end of everything. 12 years of marriage later........we are eacothers best friend, confidant, lover, soulmate, work partner, a team for all decisions and most of all, someone we cannot live without.
I have been blessed with a strong hardworking, caring, considerate, godly (not perfect but we are all flawed), wise and thoughtful man. He is mine alone and I thank my Heavenly Father for sending him to me to be my partner in life working towards our heavenly reward.
Have a blessed day
My Thirsting Soul

About me

I have been wanting to write since I was young and used to keep a journal through my teen years. After I married and had children I just didn't find the time with everyday life. You know how it is with little ones running around and needing mom's help or attention with something. I do manage to keep a Bible journal and prayer journal but trying to keep up with anything else has been a challenge.
I have some friends that asked if I would consider looking into doing journalist pieces. I definately turned that down as it would take my time away from my hubs and children. I figure this is a good compromise for me since I don't have to spend time on it unless I need or want to.
I would like to introduce myself a little and then move on to tell you about my hubs and our rugrats. I will warn you now that I have a sense of humor and if I ever refer to our children as hubs minions, chitlins, rugrats and whatever name I may think to call them that day it is in an endearing way. Our children are like any others and try our patience and parenting resources. It is part of life. But I am digressing so I will tell you a little about me.
I was born 31 years ago to my wonderful parents and was raised fundemental baptist. I am not baptist now but am a Bible believing christian and I will get into that one day as well.
My parents had 3 more children after me, 2 boys and my baby sis. I was homeschooled, taught how to run a household, teach my siblings while doing school, how to be a responsible and hard working christian. My parents weren't perfect but they taught me so much more than they realized. I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal saviour when I was about 6 and my dad was the one that showed me how to be saved. 
I met my hubs when I was 15 and we got hitched when I was 19. The next year we had a little boy. Followed by 3 more boys and then our baby girl. I have been so very blessed by my Heavenly Father with a wonderful husband whom the Lord chose just for me and beautiful children that brighten my day.
I have interests in many areas but whatever they may be and however much some people may not agree with me on them I do not choose them to make me difficult. I have to feel led by the Lord to that area and when I research or learn about something I see to it that I try to have 3 areas I learn about it in. First, how do I feel about it personally? Does the Lord want me to spend time reading about this? How will it benefit my family if I take the time with it? Second, will it help us all physically (if it pertains to that area)? Will we be honoring God by changing something to make our bodies (our holy temple) healthier? Third, where do we stand medically on this? What is the history behind what we are having to consider (you would be surprised at what you may learn about the medical field in future posts)? We do not believe in using conventional medicine unless it is necessary but before it endangers any of us by waiting to long to get help. I went to school for natropathics and am thankful I had that opportunity since it is something I use to help my family. Those are just some things to consider possibly in your personal life.
I find that even though we have a wonderful marriage and have been so very blessed that I want to make sure I am being exactly the kind of wife the Lord wants me to be. My husband has no complaints and I aim to make sure he has none. But that is only possible if I let my Father above continue to help be the way I need to be.
My next post is going to be about my hubby and I feel that I am done right now talking about. I am certainly not used to that.
Have a blessed day
My Thirsting Soul :)