Good day to be good and tired.

Today was one of the last indoor winter farmer's markets. (There will be one more.) It was so warm outside that I think people were too busy raking cornhusks out of their flower beds to come shop. Being a slow day meant I had more time to visit with other vendors. It was so fun to see everyone. I had a customer ask if it was worth all that work *gesturing to my table of baked goods* for what I made at the market. My mind fluttered through the 10 hours I spent baking, kneading dough until nearly midnight for a new "cuban" bread to offer (which no one bought... sad for the customers who lost out, but my family is thrilled they get to eat it all).... and I told her, "I don't make much, but it's worth it. I love being here!"

I had another vendor tell me that hanging around with my kids was the highlight of their market season. :) And the kids love it too: sampling new things, helping me bake, and visiting with customers. Yep, it's a fun crowd to hang around. I'll miss them all come May.

I'm tired, but it's a good tired. Hubby's tired too. He put a new motor in his work vehicle: his motorcycle. :) In and out in 10 hours must be a new record. I'm super proud of his hard work. And I'm very happy he'll be taking that to work and I'll have my van back. So tonight we grilled chicken and ate it on salad greens from the farmer's market (with bread and butter thanks to my slow sales day). It was a good day.

Easy Overnight Yogurt

I've been making yogurt for our family for over a year now, and my kids LOVE it. If your kids are accustomed to Go-gurts, this may not be for you. But if you've been paying $4 per quart for plain Greek yogurt to go with your granola and blueberries... It's time to make yogurt! It's a huge savings for us. I usually make a batch of 5-6 quarts and my total cost is $4 for the milk plus $1 for the yogurt starter. This is a potential savings of $19 for each batch!

When buying the milk, look for milk produced closer to you and from more local type dairy names. The farther the milk has to travel, the more it was homogenized. The more processed your milk is, the less likely your yogurt will turn out. I could go into all kinds of facts about Organic, non-processed, raw milk, but I'll leave it at this: Try different kinds and see what you like. If you heat your milk as we will in the first step, it should turn out fine even if you started with raw.

Moving on... For the yogurt starter, buy some at the grocery store. I've made yogurt with ultra-cheap strawberry yogurt from the mini-mart, but by far the best results came from a good plain Greek yogurt with live active cultures (the more the better! check the label to see what cultures are in it.) a 4 oz container will make 4 quarts of yogurt, so get two if you're doing more.

Here are the tools you'll need: jar tongs, mini whisk, thermometer (that at least ranges from 90 degrees to 180F), and a tablespoon.

Yes, that's a Pampered Chef Mini Whisk, and a candy thermometer.

To start with, make sure your jars are nice and clean and fill them with fresh milk. Put them in a pot with water around them up to about an inch from the tops. Heat over med-high heat to bring the milk up to temp. I put a lid on the pot to get there faster, but you won't want to put caps on the jars so you can check the temps. Just be sure you don't spill water into them. (don't mind the hard water lines on my canning pot. It's clean, we just have VERY hard water here.)

Heat until the milk reaches 175F. This ensures you've killed any bacteria that may have been in the milk, or your jars. We want to be sure we are only growing the cultures we add, not anything else. :) This is a great time to dip all of your tools in the boiling water as well to sterilize them.

175F

Use the jar tongs to set the jars out onto a towel to cool a bit. They will take a while come come down to our target temp of 95-108F, so be patient... or set them in an ice water bath, like I do. But do not skip the 10 minutes of cooling on the counter before your hit the ice bath, or your jars may crack.  This time I had one crack, so don't be surprised if it does. Just keep going with what you have.

10 minutes of rest before the ice bath

bring down to 95 to 108F range

Watch them closely, once the temp starts dropping it can drop fast and go right past your target temp, and then you may have to warm them up. It's not as complicated as it sounds. :)

Once they are in the 95-108F range, add 2 tablespoons of the store bought yogurt to each jar and mix well. I've heard you shouldn't mix too much, but when I did that I had a jar that was solid on the bottom and liquid on the top. So mix well, but don't get crazy. :) This is where I love my mini whisk!

Then quickly cap all of the jars and put them in a picnic cooler lined with a clean bath towel. Add jars filled with hot water from your pot (no caps) all around them, or in a staggered pattern, until the cooler is filled. My cooler holds 8 jars, so this batch was 5 jars of yogurt and 3 hot water jars. Cover with the towel and close up the cooler. Set it someplace it won't be disturbed overnight.

In the morning, check your jars by tipping them to the side and seeing if they "slosh". If they haven't set up yet, add more hot water  to your water jars and close it up for another couple of hours. It's not hard to do, and you will get the hang of it quite quickly!

set up nicely, with a little whey to pour off

Then all you need is to top it with home-made granola! This recipe is our favorite. :)

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Pondering Burdens

Burdens. We all have them. Usually more heavy than light. Some hidden from sight. Sometimes we are so overwhelmed by them we cannot help carry our neighbor's... defninitely no room for the burdens of our Master. And yet the Father tells us "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Mt. 11:28

Matthew 11:28-30 (Today's New International Version)
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

I like that His yoke is easy. I can't use that description for anythng else right now.

Check out this version, it makes me think of it in a different perspective:

Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)
28-30"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." 

As for sharing burdens:

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (Contemporary English Version) "It Is Better To Have a Friend"
9 "You are better off to have a friend than to be all alone, because then you will get more enjoyment out of what you earn. 10 If you fall, your friend can help you up. But if you fall without having a friend nearby, you are really in trouble. " 

Isn't it interesting that Facebook makes us so aware of everyone's burdens? My newsfeed is so burdensome some days. And yet I'm glad my friends post so I can pray, and so I know where they are. But I find it really hard to share my burdens right now. I'm pretty sure "stuffing down" isn't a working way to deal, but it's what I'm good at. Just never seem to want to post real thoughts and feelings in a status box. I guess I don't want anyone to worry or pity me. But being silent about the tough stuff gives the illusion of "havng it all together" and I'm SOOO not there.

I'm so thankful for friends who have shared my burdens this year. Especially for my hubby, a good friend indeed. God is good in how he designs things.

Most of all, I'm thankful for my Father. When it's all dark in the house. The dishes done (ok, not allways) the lights out, the kids tucked in, the hubby off working... it's just me and Him. And His love envelopes me... and after a long day of shouldering those burdens my sore shoulders slump... and His burden really is lighter! I wonder why I didn't ask to carry it much earlier in the day. The load of living for me (or even for the others I want to "fix") is so much heavier than the load of living for Him, and this seems to be so logical and yet foreign to me all at once.

All I know is this. It is.

And when I am still, I know it; this is why He is God.

Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)
6-7Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. 

~
originally posted in my notes on Nov. 6, 2009, 
about six weeks after my grandmother's passing.
More related posts over on Heart Life Page

Leather beaded braid bracelet, Photo DIY

I was recently messing around with bracelet designs, and came up with this rather simple one. I was actually working on a little harder design, like this one, and came up with this as a use for a smaller number of beads. After making both, I actually liked this one better! Plus the fun little clasp was different than usual.

Here are the tools needed. (I didn't end up needing the clothespins...)

First cut a length of leader cord (find it with the beading supplies) twice the length you need for your wrist and add some for making knots. You can always trim it down, but you can't add to it, so guess it long. :) Here's how I estimated:

Fold the leather in half and match up with a length of 22 gauge gold or silver beading wire.

Holding it with your pliers, about 1/2" down from the fold (this loop will be part of your clasp) and wrap tightly several times. Notice how the end of the wire is tipped down into the wrap, so it is buried.

Then begin to braid the leather with the wire, sliding a bead up the wire every time it comes over the braid to the top. See photo:

Once you have braided and beaded to the desired length, wrap the leather tightly with the wire again, and trim the ends. 

Slide three more beads onto the wire and draw to 1/2" from the leather, and then wrap the wire around itself to secure them there and proceed to wrap itself sightly all the way down to the leather ends. 

Cut and bury the end, and then use your pliers to bend the beaded tip into a hook that can slip through the loop on the other end.  

 Here's how that looks:

Finished:

Recipe posts:

Sweet and Saltines
Cabbage Burgers

Two Chili Recipes (scroll to end of post)

Donuts
Easy Overnight Yogurt
Using Dry Beans
Cuban Bread
Home-Made Chicken Broth
Home-Made Granola

DIY:
Leather Beaded Braid Bracelet
Home-Made Laundry Soap

We'd be honored if you followed us:

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The Chicken Chick!

Cabbage Burgers, AKA Runzas

I did not invent this recipe, but it is my version of what was given to me. :) Tweaked with the advice of my dear German Grandma, Lydia. The smell of onion cooking takes me right back to her kitchen. Next month would have been her 98th birthday. It's been 2 years since she left us, and I miss her lots. How else would I have learned to love sauerkraut enough to brave trying it on apples? ;) The following recipe has nothing to do with that.

Cabbage Burgers

Dough:
   9 cups flour
   2 tsp salt
   1/2 cup sugar
mix well and add 3/4 cup shortening or oil, cut in well.
   4Tbs yeast
mix well and slowly add 3 and 1/2 cups warm water, until a good dough forms. Knead and add flour as needed (until not sticky) for about 5 minutes and put aside in a warm place to rise (I use a greased bowl in a warm place with plastic wrap over it)

Filling:
   1 and 1/2 lbs ground beef, browned with
   1 onion diced
season with salt and pepper to taste
   add 6 to 7 cups finely chopped cabbage (1/2 a large head, or one small head)
mix with meat and onion mixture and let cook until only slightly wilted. The cabbage will finish cooking in the oven.

Divide dough in quarters, each rolls out to make 6 squares (make a rectangle and cut). Spoon cabbage mixture in the middle of each square, and pull in the corners of each to make a square pocket. Turn over and let rise in a greased pan until double, then bake at 350 until golden brown.

A variation my husband loves, is to omit the meat and cook the cabbage with lots of black pepper, until it is completely caramelized. Then wrap with dough and bake as above. Very yummy, very spicy. Something akin to Hungarian Cabbage Strudel, which I also plan to try sometime in the future. But that is another post all-together. :)

Literacy Awareness and Dr. Seuss Fun

Our kids are fond of The Cat in the Hat (the PBS show, not the movie), Horton Hears a Who, and we had the pleasure of seeing Seussical the Musical when it was performed locally. We also have loved Dr. Seuss ABC's as a way to learn silly rhyme and letter sounds all at the same time. So, in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, we had a few fun exercises this morning before school started.

First we had Green Eggs with Ham (and Emma put green sugar on their toast too, not sure what book that is from...). Yes, we used real green eggs from our Ameraucana chickens. No, they are not really green inside, we still had to add food coloring.

Then we played a Dr. Seuss matching game, talking about our favorite characters and books.

Followed up by Dr. Seuss's ABCs. :)

Now we are back on our regular schoolwork. Emma is making a Creation collage poster for her Truth & Training book and Tyler is working on a poster of his house including all the verses that he is currently memorizing on the topic of home and family, also for Truth & Training. 

Next, math and spelling...

Salvation, the best gift a parent can share with their child.

I was reflecting on the special event of last month, January 9th, 2012, Wyatt accepted Christ as his Savior. It has been my privilege to be there when each of my children has accepted Christ. It is a wonder to see the spark that ignites as the realization of Scriptural truths catches their hearts, and they are driven to seek reconciliation with their Creator.

I always wonder that such a simple conversation, often at their bedside, can have a life-altering affect. But though I may wonder, it never lasts long. In each case the child has come to me in the following days with perplexing spiritual questions and observations, which can only be answered with Scripture. I see that a hunger has been awakened! My job as their mother has shifted from bringing them to understand the Law of God, and letting it be their "schoolmaster" to show their need for Christ's redemption... but to their gardener, helping to sow and water the seed of Truth in their hearts, and nurture their spiritual growth. To help them weed out the old nature of sin, and run the race before them.

Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.
Deut. 6:6-9

Now I can say that I know that ALL of my children can be certain of their eternal home - Who said you can't take your treasure with you? Pour in the scripture! It is God's Word that makes the soil of their hearts ready, and it is His promise that it will not come back void. It is a blessing to have been with each of them in that moment when the "spark" dawns. Each time, the conversation goes a little like this one with Mayda:

(excerpt from my old Blog )


Feb 22, 2010
These are the moments...
... when being a mom is the best job in the world.

Mayda asked Jesus to be her Lord and Saviour tonight. :)

Today on our way home from a vet appointment, Emma announced from the back seat of the car that she had helped Mayda pray to ask Jesus into her heart. I thanked Emma for her evangelism and explained to her that there is more involved than saying a special prayer, and that truly it must come from the heart. This perplexed her but I think she's getting it. She had read her CEF (Child Evengelism Fellowship) storybook to Mayda and in the back was a simple prayer and she had gotten Mayda to repeat it back to her.  Not exactly a heart response...

So tonight I asked Mayda to join me in the rocking chair and talk about Jesus. She brought the book and showed me the prayer she had prayed. I asked her if she knew she was a sinner.

"What's sin?"

I explained sin is breaking God's laws, such as lying, etc. And we recited James 2:10 that tells us breaking one of God's laws is like breaking them all. I asked her if she had ever sinned.

"No, I've never sinned" :)

So reminded her of a lie she had told only about an hour before, and the light came on and her eyes narrowed.

"Oh"

Did you know God wants us to be perfect, or we can't be in heaven with Him? Are you perfect?

"Yes"

Really?

"um no"

me neither. Well if we can't get to heaven, where DO we go? Then we delved into a super simple explanation of what hell is, and that it is real. Her eyes were big as saucers.

"I don't want to go there!" Tears welling up.

Me neither, and God doesn't want you to either. He loved you so much that He made a plan. His Son, Jesus, was perfect, so perfect that He had no sin, no sin to pay for. If I died and went to hell I'd be paying for my own sin, but Jesus had none. So he offers to take your sin and pay for it. I had her hold out her hands and we transferred the imaginary burden of her sin from on hand to the other, onto Jesus, and then I explained that he took the punishment for her sin. What does the Bible say that is? "For the wages of sin is death" Romans 3:23 So then we talked about Jesus' death and how He did it for us, and that after He died, He went down into hell to conquer sin and death. By now she's sobbing for her Dear Jesus.

Do you know what happens next?

*sniff* "No! What?"

He rose up from the dead, and came back to life. He walked and talked and then went up to heaven to be with God. He was able to take the sin of the world, because He was God, and then come back to life. When he went to heaven He gave us His Holy Spirit to live in those who invite Him in, so He can be in our hearts.

She was so exhuberant it was as if Easter had happened all over again right there in our living room.

Do you want Him to take your sin, so you can be perfect, and send His Holy Spirit into your heart?

"Yes! I do want to!"

So we prayed a simple prayer, and cried together. When she was done she said, "Oh, I feel better!" with a big letting-it-all-go kind of sigh.

Then she told Emma: "I sinned and... theres this bad part, a place called hell, it's dark! But then I asked Jesus in my heart, and He washed it all clean! and I can be with God!"

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Bear with me as I write it all out, but I want her to remember... especially the tears, and the joy. You see, I was only four when I met Jesus, on such simple terms as these. Sitting on my bed with my mom... I can remember the light coming in my bedroom window. I don't remember a lot else about it. When I was 12 I rededicated my life to Him, and I remember a big change that day. It's the first I knew really what the peace of the Holy Spirit was all about. Even at 12 I knew the burden of my own sin, especially the hidden ones that plagued my heart... But then the Light broke through and... "Oh, I feel better!"

“Come now, and let us reason together,”

Says the Lord,

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

They shall be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They shall be as wool.

Isaiah 1:18