Cold Chicken

 This week we had some very cold weather. Lower than its been in more than a decade. 

We had to prepare the coop to keep the chickens safe.  We put the heat lamp (from when we had chicks) in the coop and kept it on 24/7 It looked like the coop was ablaze!

 Of course the light kept the chickens awake more which makes them eat more.

I put out extra feed for them to eat. The digestion of the feed also keeps them warm. 

Each morning I went out with boiling water to pour over their frozen water. I also fed them some leftovers!  They did well in 4 degree weather! In fact, in the past two days we collected ten eggs! (which is unheard of here in the winter!!)

 I found a few eggs in the door of the fridge, Id forgotten they were there! 

I used a little trick to test the eggs to see if they were good or not. Your egg should stay at the bottom of the glass if its fresh and good. As it ages it will stand up and eventually, if its too old thus bad to eat, it will float (like the photo above) 

If the egg is fresh and good to eat, it will stay at the bottom of the glass like the photo below.

In the winter I find myself purchasing grocery store eggs. I don't like to do that anymore but we do what we have to do. Ive read about how people use lighting in the coops to keep their chickens laying eggs year round and I had no interest in doing this, that is, until I saw what a difference it made in the egg laying this week! 

When you die

When we pass on, the most important thing is that we had given our heart/life over to the Lord before our passing. Not just saying a prayer but living the life God intended for us. Its a daily walk and battle. 

Have you ever thought about your obituary? Or what they will say about you when you are gone from this Earth? 

One thing that sticks in my mind about the movie "A Christmas Carol" is the scene where friends and family were talking about Scrooge when he passed away. In the story, he was able to watch and listen to what others thought of him and what kind of legacy he left on this Earth. It was heartbreaking to empathize with him when he finally saw what others saw in him. 

While what others say is not the ONLY thing we should think about, it is something to consider. Consider what you say/do to those around you. Is it a Godly impression?

Along those same lines, take the time to read THIS OBITUARY. 

I didn't know this lady but I wish I had. I can only hope that memories like these stand out to others when I'm gone.

Growing Lucky

 Our little Lucky Bear is growing quickly. Look how sweet his big eyes are!

 And he loves to sleep on his back!

 He is one month old now. He loves his bottle but we are beginning the weaning process. He now gets a big spoon full of mushed puppy food and milk in the mornings.

He loves to play with his little friend the hedge hog.  See how big he is next to his little friend? Now look how big (little) he was the day we got him and his hedge hog.

Are your children egocentric?

I have studied early childhood for many years. I find the stages of development fascinating from early childhood to adolescence.  Jean Piaget said that children show egocentric behavior. Dictionary.com states that egocentrism is having or regarding the self or the individual as the center of all things.

Does that sound like your child? As an example, children ages birth to two years old are completely egocentric. They are just learning about the world around them and it is understandable that they would think in this manner. From the ages of two to six children are more developed but think in terms of images and symbols and therefor find it difficult to distinguish their point of view from others. At the ages of six to twelve children have developed cognitively and their egocentrism declines but is still there on a lower level. 

I have the most difficult time dealing with the final stage which is from age twelve to 19 or so. At this age the egocentrism has declined and they can understand various sides of the same situation. Still, at this age they most often feel that the world revolves around them. They feel that everyone is looking at them and often think they are invincible. For this reason, our military branches are able to recruit our young boys. So often boys of the ages seventeen to eighteen think it will be cool to join the military, they think they will be a bad a%$# and no harm will come to them because they are in control and are invincible. "It will never happen to me" most say. They simply cannot fathom the world as it is, they only see themselves. Since they feel so invincible the military is able to scoop them up before they see things as they really are.

As a mother this is so frustrating! My son is a Marine and I couldn't be more proud but I know at the time he made this decision he had no idea what he was in for. He has grown up so much in the past four years and seen things most adults don't need to see. My heart breaks for these young boys that are not fully developed cognitively making lifetime decisions.

At the same time, I think about the teens at home. The things that teenagers get themselves in to ! 
Usually because they are thinking only of themselves.They do this, because their brains are not fully developed but how frustrating it is for parents ! Sometimes teenagers make decisions that cause more harm than good not only to them but their families. An example is texting and  driving, drinking and driving, and/or sexual behaviors. Not only can these things affect the teenager directly, it affects the world around them but they usually don't understand that. They simply think that no matter what they have seen or heard of happening, it doesn't relate to "their" situation because no one has ever encountered this exact situation.

Its the egocentric behavior.

A teenagers decisions can cost families to separate, parents to lose their job and put their siblings and others lives in jeopardy. We adults see these things and understand so much more than they do. 

How can we get them to understand when their brains simply aren't fully developed. 






This post isnt directly related to any one event that has happened or is happening in my life. Its something that Ive thought about for a long time and decided to finally post it for the frustrated parents out there.

A little Crafty

 I told you about the local Dairy Farm that I fell in love with. 

Maple View Farms is a family business and they do awesome field trips for children and have the best milk, butter and ice cream around. I love these bottles that their chocolate milk is sold in and I had to think of something to do with them. I made Christmas gifts!

I bought paint that was made for painting on glass. I took my time and poured little bits at a time and moved the bottles around until they were completely covered. Then, I turned them upside down over a paper towel to drain all excess paint out. I let them cure for several days. 

Then I used the vinyl rub on letters and designs to create names or designs on them. 

I tied a ribbon or rope around the top and there is a nice personalized gift!

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Harvesting Jewelry

 Here is my first harvest from a Jewelry In Candles purchase. It smells amazing! See that red foil pouch just under the wax? Thats where my necklace it!

 I chose the necklace for this candle. When the foil was showing I used tweezers to pull out the pouch and unwrap the foil.

 Next I had to get it out of the plastic pouch. Then I got to see my beautiful silver necklace!

 I love it, it was fun and makes my house smell so good!

 The best part is I don't have to always get a ring and wont risk getting ring that doesn't fit me.If I choose a ring, I can choose the ring size! I love the option of a necklace or earrings as well. Would you like to harvest jewelry from a candle? 

Then go to my website and find a scent you love, choose which piece of jewelry you want to order today!!!  This is definitely something fun to do on a cold winter's night! 

Check out my Facebook Page and see more jewelry reveals! 

Dr Who?

 My friend made a Tardis cake.

 I made red bowties with napkins.

 Red Rolo candy looks like the Fezz hats!

 She made fish fingers (cookies that look like fish fingers) and served custard (pudding)

 Her sister gave her this cool shirt.

 I grew up to Dr Who in the background. My dad watched it. I still didnt know much about it and had to research some ideas. I cannot believe my Future Doctor (pardon the pun) is 18.

Do you know what kind of party we are having?

Im in Love

In November, I hopped on board with a new company. Its only 4 months old and has been overwhelmed orders! About a year ago I heard about a company that sold candles with rings hidden inside. I thought it was such a fun idea and I quickly ordered one! It was fun burning it and waiting to find the ring inside but the thing that I didn't like was I couldn't be sure the ring would fit me. I have big fingers and was saddened to know that most rings would not fit me. 

Then I heard about Jewelry in Candles. This company recognized that many were saddened to know the rings may or may not fit so they changed it. With JIC you find the scent you like and choose a ring, necklace or earrings to be added in the candles!  

As I type this, I have my cinnamon candle burning and I will do a "Reveal" on my facebook page as soon as I find the ring inside! These candles smell amazing! So often I get candles that dont keep their scents but JIC candles do! 

Feel free to check out my website! The candle above is the Valentines Limited Edition. Those candles will contain necklace or earrings (no rings) and they will only make 10,000. Look how pretty they are! 

 LIMITED EDITION!!!!

Celebrate Valentine's Day with this classic love spell. A luscious infusion of cherry blossom, citrus, hydrangea, apple and peach. What better way to say "I love you" than to give your love this for Valentine's Day!

ONLY 10,000 will be made!!!!!!!!!
Product will begin shipping by 01/06. Purchase before 01/29 to be delivered before Valentine's Day. Coupons not valid unless specified.

Choose between
Earrings (only 4596 available)
Necklace(only 4066 available)
Price: $29.95

To watch my candle reveal like my Facebook Page and watch when I post! 

As good as it gets

 Over all Christmas has been a good one. 

The only way it could get better is if I were to see my Marine son walk through the door.

He woke us this morning with a phone call and I couldnt be happier.

 The husband was happy about his gift.

 My girls are happy about theirs.

 Lucky has doubled in size! 

Hes enjoyed all this "family" time this week as well.

 Our baby girl liked her shoes so much she was setting them up for pictures to post on instagram.

Im already wanting next Christmas to be here fast so I can spend it with my son.

I haven't forgotten the reason we have this season is the birth of our Lord and Savior.

His birth gave us life. He was born to give his lift for our sins. 

I am thankful.

its the most busy time of the year

Our baby girl was in a Christmas show recently. She was beautiful and did a great job.

Our newest family member is growing fast. He sleeps 8 hours at night and eats every 4 hours during the day. Im beginning to wonder if he is a Shih Tzu.

We all love him and are having a good time raising him together. 

Our other dogs are enjoying sleeping under the Christmas Tree. 

Our future doctor has been accepted to two colleges. (One offered her a $15,000 scholarship) but she still awaits the answer from her first pick for college.  

Decorating my home

 Thanksgiving weekend my husband worked hard on our floors. We couldn't afford hardwood and we didn't want carpet so we opted for tile and I love it!

 I rearranged a few things,

 Did something different with the curtains.

We have a fouton in the living room until we can purchase new furniture. 

I love the little changes and hope we can continue to make changes in our house and find money for needed repairs. For now, we will try to enjoy Christmas.

We are "Lucky" in love

 We have a new member in our family. 

We are so love with Lucky. 

We adopted him from the Animal Protection Society. He was born December 5th and found in the grass somewhere wet from birth and with the umbilical cord still attached.

 No mama dog anywhere to be found and no other siblings that they could find. 

How could we not adopt this baby in need? He sleeps on a heating pad. We bottle feed him about an ounce every four hours. We have to rub his belly with a warm wet wipe (to simulate the mother licking him) causing him to use the bathroom.

We are Lucky in love with this little fella.

An empty chair on Thanksgiving

 We always have Thanksgiving at my mother-in-laws house. This year there was an empty chair.

My son's hat was there and I think he was there in spirit as my girls and I started giggling and couldn't stop!

 We talked about how we missed our Marine and even took turns wearing a hat he left behind.

 My mother in law wore a turkey mask that we got her as a Christmas gag gift last year.

For four days my husband worked on our floors in the living room. We have been walking on our floor like this for months and months. I tore out the carpet nearly a year ago and we just couldn't get things together to redo the floors until now. Ill post after pictures soon. 

Its a little harder when you live in a double wide mobile home as things aren't quite like a house but that's ok.... the floors are complete! 

Thanksgiving was good but would have been perfect if our Marine were home.