don't want to be a grownup

we've decided that tomorrow lucy is going to heaven. she had a bad day yesterday and unless she turns around in an amazing way today, we are choosing her last day to be tomorrow. she hasn't been the same lucy for awhile and i don't know if that makes it easier or harder to say goodbye. i hate making this decision, but we have wanted to end her life in a way that she is in a happy place. for her, that is the lake at jason's parents' house. so thankfully the vet agreed to come out and we will feed her a yummy steak and let her wade in the water one more time. truly i am not sad for her. i believe with all my heart that animals do go to heaven. i am sad for us. i am sad that we won't get to see her sweet face anymore. we won't get to play bubbles with her.

i look at her now just laying beside me. she has no energy left. i feel like she looks at me as to say, "i am ready."

but i'm not.

Thursday = Purge-day

I started thinking about how there are so many books on cleaning out clutter, organization, simplicity, etc. And I wondered if our grandparents' generation had similar books and I concluded they probably didn't. They didn't have stuff, hence they didn't need clever ways of organization. And I thought I want to be more like my grandma.

Less stuff = less time spent on finding things/organizing / cleaning / buying new things to replace things you've lost.

So I am implementing in this household that every Thursday is Purge-day. That means I must get rid of something every week! I think simplicity is a discipline, and just because I have a spot to store something doesn't mean I need to keep it. I've been doing it for a couple weeks and it's been very therapeutic for me. It is also hard to know that this day I have to find SOMETHING to get out of our house. But I do find removing stuff I don't want/need/remember I had makes space for better stuff like joy, time, laughter with kiddos, play, and on and on.

Simple life, here I come!

Forgive

Dear person who hurt me,

I forgive you. I completely forgive you. I will not let unforgiveness cause me to hold anger or resentment. I will not let it cause me to sin. Today I pray God's best for you. You are not God's best for me.

Sincerely,
Liberated

a yummy (non-Maker's Diet) food!

So, I'm really on board with the Maker's Diet (so far!). Unfortunately it also is not a fan of pork. And unfortunately, we are fans. We cook pork maybe once every 2 months. But when we make it, we enjoy it! So, a friend had posted this article on making perfect bacon. We tried it this weekend to celebrate Daddy's Day weekend! And it worked perfectly! Yummy! And mess-free! And quick! Now, I'm trying to decide if there's any reason to keep our griddle. Hmm...

the Lord speaks to my heart

So, I had to share, even though I just wrote a post for today. This morning I was reading a devotional on my Ipad (which is amazing, I must say...even for this person who is techno challenged and techno resistant (sometimes!)) and it talked about serving. And if I were willing to serve the least person I wanted to. That's what the Lord requires of us. Isn't it great (and sucky at the same time) that the Lord challenges us SO GREATLY!

Anywho, I ran across this post (please read...it is incredible and touched this mama's heart!)...

a few snippets: Wowsa! Love it!

"The closer you get to home, the less intriguing the work of sacrifice seems. As someone once said, “Everyone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help Mom with the dishes.” When you are a mother at home with your children, the church is not clamoring for monthly ministry updates. When you talk to other believers, there is not any kind of awe about what you are sacrificing for the gospel. People are not pressing you for needs you might have, how they can pray for you. It does not feel intriguing, or glamorous. Your work is normal, because it is as close to home as you can possibly be. You have actually gone so far as to become home.

It is easy to think you have a heart for orphans on the other side of the world, but if you spend your time at home resenting the imposition your children are on you, you do not. You cannot have a heart for the gospel and a fussiness about your life at the same time. You will never make any difference there if you cannot be at peace here. You cannot have a heart for missions, but not for the people around you. A true love of the gospel overflows and overpowers. It will be in everything you do, however drab, however simple, however repetitive."

trying to eat cheap, GOOD food

I really aim to eat as much organic, local, natural food as possible. I love local, healthy food. I don't necessarily love that eating healthy is more expensive. I think if our country truly cared about health care reform, we would spend money on making good food affordable and less on medical costs. Anywho, I won't get on a soapbox about that. Except to say, in order to eat as good as food as possible, we do supplement our grass-fed beef, organic milk (we have decided to switch to raw milk!), local produce with cheap things...like beans! My wonderful southern husband has turned me onto the yumminess of beans. Simple, healthful, and hearty!!! I never thought I'd say it, but I made baby lima beans for lunch and LOVED them!

Here is a recipe from the Pioneer Woman. Really it's more of a method. I used lima beans instead and added a tablespoon of olive oil to the water and used a chicken base. I omitted the bacon and soaked the beans overnight to cut down on the cook time. It reduces it to about an hour of simmering. Try it...you just might like it!

And to end, Jason's limerick he likes to sing when we eat beans:

Beans, Beans...good for your heart.

The more you eat, the more you (I'll let you fill it in)

The more you eat, the better you feel.

So, let's eat beans for every meal. :)

techno dumb

I am not a technological person...aka I have no I-Phone, no flat TV, no cute computer, don't even have cable. (Bella knows how to use my mom's I-Phone more than I do) .And really, I like it that way. I like to be different and it brings simplicity (even if only a little) to my life. And technology is expensive. But I am getting an IPad soon, and I find myself a little giddy. Am I in over my head?

To raw or not to raw?

I have begun reading The Maker's Diet which is very intriguing. From what I've read so far, it aligns with our eating philosophy. I don't have time to go into all the detail of the diet...but I've been considering replacing our regular ultra-pasteurized milk with raw milk. From my research so far, I found this article to be the most balanced. If anyone out there is considering raw milk, check it out! And let me know your thoughts! It seems like such a big decision to me!