Birthday # 33

Today is my birthday.....it started out like any regular day.
-laundry to be done
-kids to be fed,changed,napped dresses etc...
-errand to run, , feed store,
Adorable side story--We get the the feed store to buy rabbit and chicken food and Mason says to me.
"Mama I know what I want to get you for your birthday present!"
(I had a pretty good idea what he was talking about, we collect the Audubon Society Birds)
"but I want to get it for you by myself, so you don't see"
so I give him some money and off he goes to the bird tree...and I went to the register to explain what he was doing and could they help him with the money part, they of course thought this was just so sweet and were wonderful!
He pick out a bird, brought it to the register behind his back, sent me to look at the rabbits! and they took him behind the register counter (so I could not see) and put it in a bag all tied up (so I could not peek!) and he payed all by himself!
He was so PROUD!!! (so was I).......

Bank, food shopping and a stop at Jesserie's house to pick up photos were still on the list.

*Then I decided I need a little birthday celebration before the day was over, so me and the boys stopped at a tiny ice cream stand in Norton and indulged in home made ice cream by Bliss Bros. farm while swinging on a wooden bench swing!! So nice.

And before I knew it it was all about my birthday.....
Warren and the boys treated me to dinner at my fave restaurant, the Chatue.
(and they little boys were so great, for a restaurant that was not Friendly's!!)
Mason kept "Not wanting to tell me about a secret"

When we got home Mason wanted me to open my present....he was so excited!!!
He said"I pick out the Blue Jay because it is a bird that we get in out yard that we dont have yet!" (we are tring to collect all the birds we have in our yard, we have about 15 of them alreadly!)

Then the big surprise happened!!!
Michelle,Gillian, Emily and Sabrina showed up with cupcakes!!!! (This was Mason's secret!)
I was so happy I haven't seen them in ages and it really made me feel special that Shell would work all day and drive all the way from JP with cupcakes in hand just for my birthday! Thanks you guys so much for that wonderful party!!! Truly heartwarming.

and to get lots of happy birthday wishes from friends on Facebook too!!
I am feeling the LOVE Vibe!!! (Much needed too)

My birthday used to be my favorite holiday...this year it defiantly is!!!!

Lessons in Food Preservation!!!

So as the garden is reaping Warren's rewards...I am trying to preserve most of it as fast as I can! I have decided i do not have enough room in my freezer to freeze the garden, so I am trying my hand at canning. I already ruined my whole crop of peas :( (what I did not eat out in the yard!)

Lesson 1. Do not heat up the cannier on HIGH it will burn the peas!

Lesson 2. When making homemade strawberry jam make sure the pot is big enough, or you get a big STICKY mess!

Lesson 3. Do not try to wash,cut, and can 3 large bags of string beans after 9:00 at night....it take way to long!!! I think the next batch I will sit outside with the beans and a bowl and snap the ends off while the kids are playing, then can them at night!

Lesson 4. When making blueberry jam, a recipe that dose not call for PECTIN takes a LONG time to get to the gelling point....like 40 mins

I am sure there will be more to come!

Homestead Wish List

When we first saw the land that we own we knew we would love living here! We knew that we wanted it to be a back to nature kind of living...it has taken alot of work! First of all this yard was a DUMP!!! litteraly we have found tons of trash, shingles, asedaline tanks etc buried in the ground!!! And lawn mowers, batteries, old dish washer and lots of @#$%? in the woods.
We have cleaned it up and have not used ANY chemicals on the property in atleast 4 years.
What we have done so far to become a earth friendly homestead..

• huge garden
• compost all food scraps (not meat of grease)
• no chemicals inside or out!
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!!!!! (this works great cause we are both pack rats!)
• planted trees!!!
• make better purchasing choices for the house
• have chickens!
• attract birds, and humming birds with homes, feeders and water
• Teach Mason and James eco friendly living as a way of life!

What we would love to do..........
1. To become completly self serficiant. ( probably not going to happen.....)
2. To grow all of our own food . ( working on this and we do grow ALOT of food)
3. To buy a freezer!
4. To stock the freezer with a cow and a pig!
5. To rid the house of all plastic for eating purposes ( this is almost done! James has 2 plastic sippy straw cups he got for his birthday that are PABA free!)
6. To someday get solar panels!
7.To someday get a generator
8. To someday dig a root cellar
9.To become a better canner!!! (Heather is helping me with this one!)
10. To make our own bread (again help Heather!)
11. Warren would like to raise some of our chickens for food?
12 Would love to have a woodburing furnace!
13. I want a composting toilet!
14. To have gutters on the house to collect rain water!
15. Warren would love to make Bio-deasel
16. To plant only native plants and become certified as a wildlife habitate
17. To have the vernal pood certified!

What ever happened to good old fashioned morals?

I am trying to raise my children to be thoughtful of other people. To not be greedy, Be kind to all living things (except mosquitoes). To have good manners, like hold the door, offer a seat, please and thank you and to ask before you take something. I feel even at 4 years old my son already has a good grip on this concept and he makes me proud everyday for it.
So how come my 4 year old knows the difference between right and wrong, yet other ADULTS in my life seem to be completely oblivious to these same common courtesy's!

I recently had something stolen from me, from people that I thought were honest and trustworthy. From people who I foolishly assumed loved me and would not purposefully hurt me?
This kind of behavior has had me reevaluating my open and trusting personality? How can I believe that the people within my own close circle are......kind and honest, is it naive of me to want the world (at least my world) to be Peace, Love and Happiness? This is what I wish for my world!

I watch the new, I read the papers, I know the world I filled with people who have no conscience, no morals, no common courtesy's for others..........
This has been a sad and tough week, reflecting, contemplating....
This is a trial of my forgiving nature.......
How do I teach my own children to have a good moral base and to be trusting and forgiving, when I myself am now in a moral conflict?
My hope is my true nature will prevail and I will have learned a lesson from this experience (although I am not yet sure what that lesson could be as of now?)

I am hoping for strength and peace!

July 29,2010: Strength and Peace at Heart!
During the year since I wrote this post I continued to struggle with "forgiveness".  I had a hard time trusting people, even people I love and trust.  I felt as though for awhile I had a nagging feeling of sadness that always lingered in the back of my mind.....then if you can believe it I learned a life lesson from a movie Amish Grace it is a Lifetime movie.  In the movie Grace learns the Amish way of forgiving is to let all feelings of hate and anger be given up to a greater spirit (in this case God), in my case Karma.  I learned that it is not good for your heart to hold on to negative feelings and sadness.  I now believe if you let it go.... the person you hold such feelings for will have to eventually answer to a higher power, or their own conscience.  So LET IT GO and trust that justice will manifest in some form. I actually am grateful for this experience now, it has helped to to let go of allot of pent up feelings I was holding from years past.......
I also know that Karma has come back to me for times I have hurt others. (I do believe that this experience is do to my own past actions). 
I  feel sorry for those who still struggle with living without kindness and a moral conscience and hope that one day they will learn to listen to their heart.nds herself struggling with her community’s belief in the transcending power of forgiveness.herself struggling with her community’s belief in the transcending power of forgiveness.

Precious Time

Wasnt I just 7 years old, running around with no shoes on, playing all day, going to the "General Store" for penny candy and all I had to worry about was what time I had to be back at the summer cottage for dinner!? Those times are long gone and my own son is turning 5 soon! I want for him and my other 1 year old son to have the same care-free childhood that I had, I want thier summers to feel endless as mine did.....I want thier childhood years to last for ever!!!
But sadly I know that they will grow up to soon and I will no longer long for my own childhood years,but for the time I had with thiers!
I have triied to make a commitment to myself to kick back a little and relax more so I can stop and really listen to my son when he talks to me (no matter how repetative or silly) and not brush him off with a "just a minuet ,Hold on a minuet, I'm busy", ect.....
To remember the baby's innocent eyes and simple smiles, his wobbly legs standing on his own for the first time!
My commitment means:
more reading for mom, less worring about dishes!
more playing cars! ENDLESSLY!
more tickles
more laying in the grass
more chalk drawings
more bike rides
more cooking together
more talking together
MORE PATIENCE!!!!!!!
ECT>>>>>
When they are grown and dont need my attention anymore I will then....
I will worry about housework!