Be true to who you are…..
And the family name you bear……
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Safe in His hands.
Monday, October 26, 2009
To heal a heart..
THOMAS WATSON
Behold, her mighty Oak!
I need heat and warmth to keep this old body moving. Winter is hard, hard, hard on me. If given the option I would curl up and sleep all winter long. For this reason I have often longed to move South... send me hurricanes and flooding, give me twisters and chiggers, I'll take what ever may come but give me Heat! I know how Sam MaGee feels. However, I will never leave, the Rockies have carved themselves too deep into the hearts of my family. But if I could, oh, if I could.
One day while watching a hunting video with my guys I listened to Will Primos with his southern drawl talk about deer feeding on "A kerns" which is southern for acorns. He was in a tree stand with the sun shining warm on his back, it was Thanksgiving day!!! Suddenly I had to have an "A kern" tree, because by all common reason, it HAD to be what was causing the sun to shine in November.
The next spring when my shipment of trees came from the U of I, nestled somewhere in the box were five little oak trees.... including the roots they were no taller than my hand and as Shane held one up for inspection he said "Woman, I hope you got a good deal on these." My boys took some good natured jabs at me and my oaks. Grace, felt sorry for me and kissed their little bare branches.
I told them that when they bury me under them, they will look up to the towering branches and with a tear in their eye cry out "Behold, her mighty Oaks." And then they will tell their children about a granny who planted an oak for them to enjoy, for the deer to feed beneath, a testimony that my thoughts were with the generations to come....
I did not plant a fast growing Poplar for my immediate gratification but a tree that would live and bless my prodigy as well. Today, four years later, my Oaks are seven foot high. They are starting to be beautiful. And, we only have forty six more years before they actually start producing "A kerns"!
My vision for my future family does not end with giving them Oak trees to sit beneath however, this vision is one that I have prayed over and struggled with for almost a decade now. I want a line of Holversons that stand before God, ever ready for the battle that lay ahead. I see a work from Him that will not end with me but carry on for generations to come. If I fail to pass my vision on to my children the day will be lost ~all my effort will be in vain.
One of my favorite movies is Pendragon. It is a low budget film, hard to watch if you are only watching it to be entertained but if you are watching it to be inspired you will not be disappointed. In it there is a comment made ~ God does not call men to futility.
Futility... God does not call men to merely survive the daily grind... To struggle with bills or health or that dryer that breaks for the 20th time... He calls us to battle! On our knees, with our swords, with our mouths and hearts and CHILDREN!!!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Reluctance
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Fall Colors
Saturday, October 3, 2009
The Magic of a Tree
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Brave Hearts and Fair Madiens
is no longer safe to climb this year.
So the blankets must be taken down.
I wonder by the time the snow melts next spring
how many of the younger ones will join
the older ones in feeling "too old" to play in the tree.
and then bring them in to the wash room......
Oh well, a small price to pay for a
summers worth of fun.
Monday, September 28, 2009
On a Velvet Pillow.
He doesn't even budge, just puts out a hand, steadies himself and says "Momma, you'd think with as much money as you've had to put into me this summer, you'd be a little more careful of me.... you know like set me up and display me on a velvet pillow." he straightens and continues his daydreaming "I'll lounge their all day and you could show me off saying "see, here is my million dollar child" or something."
I answer that back in the day if a man owed more money than he could pay they put him in a debtor's prison to work at hard labor until he could pay it off....
You could almost see the dream bubble burst over his head.
He follows with "Really? Well, my arms going to be all messed up again so I guess it will be you and dad that would have to do the hard labor."
"Boy, you have no sympathy.."
"I know, makes my idea of the velvet pillow sound better all the time doesn't it?"
"Pick boy, before I break the other arm..."
"Yes, 'em. You're harsh."
That part comes naturally when you're raising four boys.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Today is the 25th..
So I suppose your wondering.....
I tried to tell God this wasn't going to reflect very good on Him. I've done a lot of bragging. Funny how he doesn't worry about our opinions.
Zachary is scheduled for surgery December 28th in the Boise Hospital.
They will be damaging the growth plate on his healthy bone and also cutting it to remove a section to bring it back down to the other bones length, fusing it together with a plate.
Dr. Showwalter has chosen to go with Dr. Mills' first assessment and not the second.
This song has been running through my head all day:
I was out in my truck after the appointment and my tears were fussing with me a little. I am worried about him going through surgery again. He gets so sick and was in so much pain last time. And here, poor Zac, turns to me and says "momma, I'm sorry I give you so much trouble." Then I really did cry. All I could say was "No, Zac" and shake my head.
Over the course of my life, I have seen other parents go through hell with their children. Mine have been nothing but a blessing to me. They love and serve their Savior with all their heart. I don't have any unwed fathers, My children preach constantly against drugs and alcohol, they don't lie or steal. They don't even know what P.O. stands for. My boys love and protect me like I was some treasure.
No, Zacky~D ...... my children do not give me trouble. Not even when they ~ and I are broken.
In fact, son, I don't know what true grief is.....
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Autumn Blessings
About half way across the reservoir, the sun was gone, our daylight has shortened tremendously. Praise God for the moon, calm weather and a running motor. The water was like glass as we cut across it. Pretty if I could have just relaxed. Slowing when the reservoir narrowed we picked our way home. I am thankful that they are familiar with the reservoir..
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Make Hay While The Sun Shines
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Boy, Can you skin Grizz?
....sure are cocky, for a starving Pilgrim................David and Cody have both killed a bear. This year it is Andrew and Zachary's turn to try. So far they have had a lot of hits at their bear bait sites but have not harvested one... Their Uncle Dan, however, did. And He brought it to me~e! I don't like bear meat. They are scavengers. And by all reasonable assessment what they eat...you eat. Yuck! Not to mention it is greasy and sticks to the roof of your mouth. No~ part of the pig family or no, I'll stick with the original white meat. But what is good on the bear is the hide. Soft, warm and pretty. Dan didn't bring me the hide though. Darn 'im. He brought me the carcass. So I did what any woman would do~ cry.
Alright, I made it into dog food. My dog food recipe calls for two pounds of ground meat per batch and after the boys and I had it all butchered, ground and wrapped up we had enough for over 25 batches of dog food. And that's why I'm singing!! Chief and General's grub was getting low and I don't know how you look into those big brown eyes or stare at all that slop chop drool and tell them there just isn't any thing left except fish. They don't like puppy food made from fish, so times are pretty desperate when I make it that way. Here's the recipe they swear by:
2lbs ground meat
( I use what ever we have at the time.. wild whatever, duck, chicken,fish,goat,rabbit, left over roast or taco meat etc.)
4 cups rice
12 cups water ~ sometimes if I have extra milk I will add it.
veggies
( again whatever, zuc, crookneck, a quart jar of beans, carrots or corn.) DO NOT use onions~ they are toxic to dogs. Thanks, Cody, for setting momma straight.
Put the meat, rice and water into a dutch oven and bring to a boil, simmer until meat is cooked and all water is absorbed. I add a little salt to this.
If veggies are raw cook them in a little water otherwise dump the jar into the blender and puree (stealth health) If I leave them chopped the dogs kick them out of the bowl.
Add puree to rice mixture and stir. Store covered in the fridge.
***My disclaimer*** I am not a nutritionist. I have only been feeding my boys this way for about eight months and only time will tell if my way of thinking is truly healthy for my dogs... some nutrition deficiencies would not show up until my dogs are old men. BUT people managed to keep their dogs alive and fed for years and years before Purina came along. There has to be a way of doing it for ones self.
The only draw back I see to this food is ~it is soft therefore will not clean their teeth like a dry kibble would. I give them bones to keep their teeth healthy.
I make this batch about every 4 to 5 days for my two Newfies... if you have a disposable dog ( you know.. the flushable size) you may want to cut it in half so it doesn't go bad in the fridge.
Let me know if you try it.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Check Your Trap Line Daily....
Now, in our main bathroom there has been a smell.... a horrible smell for the past two days. I have scrubbed everything in it from the toilet to the walls and I cannot get rid of the smell. My man keeps asking me when I am going to clean the bathroom because the smell is terrible. I was almost in tears because I HAD cleaned it~ many times over!
Well, last night I was getting all the trash ready to be hauled and when I opened the cabinet for the bathroom trash.........oh! the smell. Behind the trash can was a mouse trap that I had set... and forgot.
There was my smell... a dead mouse at that stage where....where your eyelids curl in and your lungs send out an involuntary "Cease and Desist" order because the pain of breathing in is just more than your nose can handle. Oh, it was AWFUL!!!
I was down in the cabinet cleaning up the mess when one of the boys (he's lucky I didn't turn around to find out who.) walks by and says "Hey mom, check your trap lines daily!"
If my lungs would have been working he'd have gotten an ear full. But as it was they weren't.
And, after all, it was good advice from his mother.....
Monday, September 14, 2009
Bloom where you are planted
"soil too poor to grow anything."
Friday, September 11, 2009
The Human Jack
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Thieving Wolves....
Thursday, September 3, 2009
This is Good.
First I want you to know that I do not believe in "Faith Healing".
I do not believe that a preacher or anyone for that matter can slap someone on the head with an oily palm screaming "Be healed in Jesus!" and when that person rises up he is wonderfully healed.
On Tuesday morning we went to Dr. Mills office. Now, Dr. Mills is a steady Eddie, no emotion, no drama, no personality......... it's what bugs me about him because when I am upset everyone else should be too.
But today he was struggling, talking in circles, using words that were so far over my head.....
The CT scan was on his computer. He kept zooming in and out on different pictures and bone fragment and then he would point to the x~ray and shake his head. The way he was acting just made me sick and honestly for the first five minutes I thought my son was dead in the water. Finally he leans back and says "I just don't know what to tell you but the damage is not showing where I saw it first in the x-ray............
Then it hits me, he is upset because he thinks he was wrong not because something is wrong...
He is agitated because I am stupid. "Yes, it's good, but obviously I have two conflicting reports so you will need to see a specialist out of Boise to confirm what I am saying."
The second opinion I didn't even have to ask for.....
He continues "If he concludes that the damage is on the inner part of the arm instead of the outer part where originally shown then we will do another follow up in three months and postpone surgery, at least for now........". I didn't here the rest.
My mind just kept screaming "This is good!" "God is good!"
I was so distracted that when I left the office I left everything there.... the disk with the CT scan, the copy of the x-rays, everything I needed to take to Dr. Showwalters. I guess I will need to pick that up the next time I am in town.
We see Dr. Showwalters on September 25.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Of Books and Learning
This morning after chores we all gathered in the class room to sort books for our lessons this winter. I love the smell of old books. I love the smell of new books for that matter. Solomon declared "Of the making of books there is no end..." I couldn't agree more. In the past ten years of homeschooling I have bought and traded and read and scrapped more books than I can count. It is one of the heaviest responsibilities I have as a mother. I know the brain food I set in front of them will make or break them for the rest of their lives. And I take that serious. Most of our books could never be resold because a portion of them have lines drawn through the text and a handwritten note saying "your parents do not want you to read this because God's word says....."
Or " read this part but look up this verse afterward and see how the author has strayed from the teachings of Christ." I am not afraid to ruin a book regardless of the price.
I know, it is unbelievable that any child of mine would love to hear how private citizens stood up to the Government and said "YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!!!" Just call me Johnny Reb.
What I have done is compromised....and you though that was impossible for me?
Anyway, I get them one new book to read about the Civil war per year, that way it doesn't consume the entire time but they still get their fix.
The two older boys have read through most of G.A. Henty's historical fiction and Cody is starting on Ballantyne. This year I will turn their reading to more of a serious matter and have them read from leading Preachers like John R. Rice, Voddie Baucham, Mike Pearl and others on topics of home life and home leadership. It's time for that I guess. The younger boys will start in on historical fiction toward the end of this year.
One thing I noticed about my girls especially Grace, she has kind of been slighted. I have catered to the older ones in our group reading ~she had learned to sit through adult stories, biographies and classics. Even her bedtime books are geared toward Bethany. Chapter books like Elsie Dinsmore and such. She has missed out on children's books like Alice in Bibleland and Seuss.
They are all still on the shelf but I have not read them to her... she pulled one out while we were there .. "Oh, the thinks you can think.." So I sat down to read to her, part way through she said "Momma, what's a Zong?" as in ~You can wonder how long is the tail of a Zong? I said "Well, a Zong is an imaginary creature that the author made up."
"Yeah, but that's silly, I'm done with this book..." and back on the shelf it went.
Some books are bound in our hearts such as "All the places to love", when a new baby is coming. "Blueberries for Sal" at huckleberry time. "Pickin' Pea's" is read in July. "Burt Dow deep water man".... they named our boat the Tidly Idly II. "Summer of the Monkeys"...~ Often when calling everyone to dinner you will hear...Come an' get it or I'll feed it to the chickens!!!
"Christies Old Organ"....My favorite one for fall is "The Oxcart man". Thanksgiving is rounded off with "The Little Pilgrims" and "America's Lost Dream". Or "William Bradford~Plymouth's Faithful Pilgrim." There are still remainders of tree houses out front after we read "Robinson Crusoe". And I could go on and on... in fact I did didn't I?
Well, I'll quit now but what a blessing to live in a time where so many books are available to anyone who will take the time to pick one up.
You get a Line....
I don't know how many times I have to tell Cody not to play with his food.
Mmmmmmm they were good.