Not Giving Up

Even though I don't keep a regular schedule for updating this blog, I just can't seem to let it go. :) But then, some things take time to grow and mature, kind of like a fine wine. Last year's Community Garden idea was great! But it didn't happen. I spent most of my summer searching, applying and interviewing for teaching jobs in public school, only to be turned away. Then, Mr Gehrke found a job listing for a teaching job with Head Start across the border. He thought it might give me the experience I was hearing I didn't have. Yes, it most definitely has been full of experience in so many ways!!!

I might try a garden again this year, just for us. I tilled up a patch of earth a few weeks past. We had used the spot as a dumping ground for cleaning out the chicken and goat barns. I burned the straw, then tilled it in to the soil. Can hardly wait to see how well the patch grows!

That's all for now. It's late and my job teaching 3-5 year olds wears me out.

Here's to hoping I write a few more posts before another year passes! I wonder what interesting finds I can photograph and turn into posters this year? :)

Community Gardening Experience?

I'm excited to grow a garden this year. It hasn't gone well the past few years - too much sun, heat, squash bugs, yellow jackets, and weeds have taken the joy away. But this year - 2014 - I have motivation and a plan!

What is the motivation? A need to lose extra weight. Lower my cholesterol levels. Increase my vitamin D. Have a healthy family.

What is the plan? Move the garden to the shady area in our "front" yard next to the well house. (I don't do well in extreme sun and heat. Like the plants, I tend to wilt.) Start plants from seed in the house. Find friends committed to tending the garden with me in exchange for free veggies!

My track record for successful gardening isn't very long. My best garden was in town - 2003. We had an abundance of tomatoes, peppers, and bottle gourds that year! And my track record for successful community gardening - nonexistent. Not for a lack of trying, mind you. I've created this picture to test the field (unintentional pun). I'm hoping someone wants to join forces with me this year! I think gardening is so much more fun with someone else.

A garden is in the works because we're making healthy living changes. A more whole-food/Paleo style diet is being combined with exercise. Tonight we went to the public pool and participated in deep water aerobics while the kiddos played in the shallow end. I'm going to dust off my yoga w/weights DVD.

Anyway, we are excited about 2014. These changes are not so much New Year's Resolutions. They are more about taking care of the blessings we have. So, what do you think? Would you join a Community Gardening Experience?

Words ...

"Words can build you up. Words can break you down. Start a fire in your heart, or put it out." ~ Hawk Nelson

Words are something that are on my mind a lot this week. Everywhere I turn, there they are. Words of peace. Words of strife.

I read an insightful blog article tonight about words in recent news. A friend on Facebook shared a great picture regarding the words we use to acknowledge the Holiday Season we're currently in.

FlyLady wrote about words and incorporated them into her 2013 motto.

"Words can be kind or mean; the choice is yours in 2013!"

~ FlyLady (Marla Cilley)

With only ten days left in 2013, I'm feeling strongly in my heart to finish out this year with kindness.

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12)

Utah

We recently made our annual trek to south central Utah. Mr. S. found this unique item while exploring in the tree line behind our campsite. It begged to be photographed and turned into a poster!

(Remember, you need our permission to share the picture. If you want to share this post, go ahead!)

Randomness

This video comes from Muley Madness on FB (www.facebook.com/muleymadness). Thanks, Staci, for sharing it! :)

 

Day 8 - Animal

"Miss Ella Fisher"

Today a cute little cat showed up on our classroom windowsill. One student wanted to name her "Ella" and another student wanted her to be "Fisher." So I combined them both and we called her "Ella Fisher." No idea where she came from. But she certainly brought some joy to our students today!

#edugood

March - Day 1: Blue

Dr. Seuss Day at school today!

#edugood

03.01.2013

#edugood 365

I'm getting a late start in taking a picture a day for a year. Better now than wait any longer! :)

One of the Best Birthdays - Ever!

This week I celebrated my birthday! on Thanksgiving Day! It's not often that my birthday falls on that wonderful day. Mr. M asked me what day of the week I was born on - that's easy, Thursday! Easy to remember because I was born on Thanksgiving. We had been talking about what day of the week the different holidays are on. "I thought Thanksgiving was on the 25th?" "No. It's always on the fourth Thursday of the month!" his older brother chimed in.

The story goes that my due date was long past. My parents and sister went to one of our parent's parents' house for Thanksgiving dinner. Then they went to the other's parents' house for Thanksgiving dessert. Then they went to the hospital and had me! :)

So what about this year made it one of the BEST birthdays EVER??

• It was on Thanksgiving Day
• Mr. Gehrke was actually home to celebrate with us (last year he was gone hunting)
• My guys all helped make the Thanksgiving meal
• My little family was with me

It was a low-key celebration. We couldn't find enough candles to stick in the homemade pumpkin pie. :) (whew!) There were cards from everybody. They wanted me to pick out my own birthday gifts the next day.

Last Saturday I ordered myself a Freeset bag through The MOB Society blog. Every bag sold helps free a woman out of sex slavery and into freedom in India. My bag came today! I'm so excited! It's beautiful in so many ways - what it stands for and the simplicity of it.

Each bag is unique. The fabric is cut from a recycled sari. It's one of my favorite shades of blue! I can't wait to start using it!

I also got some beautiful scented candles and a couple new hats. The best part of my birthday was spending it with the ones I love. :)

Hope for the Weary Mom: Where God Meets You in Your Mess {expanded edition}

Hooray! Stacey Thacker and Brooke McGlothlin have joined together to expand their book, Hope for the Weary Mom: Where God Meets You in Your Mess! Today it is available on Amazon.com! AND...for the first 48 hours is 100% FREE for your Kindle!! Thank you Stacey and Brooke! :)

* * * * *

Except for writing book reports for school back in the day, I've never written a book review before. There, that's out in the open! Now hopefully the jitters will go to sleep and I can share with you a few of my favorite parts. :)


FAVORITE QUOTES:

"'...I’m going to explode within the next ten minutes if you don’t COME HOME AND BRING ME BEER AND CIGARETTES RIGHT NOW!' He brought me a Coke and dark chocolate." 

(Quite possibly my most favorite quote from the whole book! Why? I know that feeling - when everything that can go wrong seems to happen...ALL WITHIN 3 Minutes! But Jesus, in all His goodness, puts his arms around me and says, "I love you. Lean on me.")

When we decide to lay aside the shame, open up and be truthful about what's really going on in our lives, it's incredible how many lives we encourage. I love that I am not alone. And that it's all right that I'm not perfect. :)

"The point of Hope for the Weary Mom is to help mamas point their eyes and hearts to Christ. Because as much as we sometimes want God to remove us from our messes, more often He just gets in it with us—lifting our heads, giving us strength, helping us put one foot in front of the other as we slosh our way through it (see the intro!).

But it is nice to have some practical tools in our back pockets for those days that just seem out of control. What’s a weary mom to do to find some rest in the midst of the crazy?"

Amen! There are some great tools and resources at the end of the book.


FAVORITE REVISIONS:

Study questions are now at the end of each chapter. I personally just read each question and answered out loud...to my little Chiweenie. :) She doesn't critique me or make fun of my answers. And it helped me to be honest with where I'm at in the moment.

FAVORITE TOPICS:

Weariness
Grief
Weakness
Healing
Shame
Grace
I Am Not Alone
Hope

I appreciate how the authors have shared intimate portions of their lives with us. They are real women with real struggles and weariness. They know what life is like. They know where their Hope comes from. And that makes this collaboration all the more precious to me.

The section on grief has helped me grieve the death of my own mom a year and a half ago. You know, it's going to take time. The emotions are going to flood over me at unsuspecting moments. And that's all right.

I could have used this book ten and a half years ago when my oldest was born four and a half weeks before his due date. The struggles of trying to get him to feed (and thrive) after ten days in NICU were taking a toll on me. Not to mention lack of sleep from feedings every 2-3 hours 24/7 - even with my husband getting up to help with the bottles. I felt like I was all alone. But I wasn't then and I'm not alone now. Back then the book was still a "Twinkle in God's eye" as I say to my boys when they ask about something that happened before they were born. :)

Sometimes books can travel back through time to help heal old weariness. His timing is always perfect. And so today I hope you will go and get your copy of this reborn book, and be blessed and encouraged by the Hope that you are not alone!

I pray that you are blessed abundantly by Hope for the Weary Mom: Where God Meets You in Your Mess. :)

~ Cresenda

*I am also Guest Posting this entry over at friend Melody's blog - Stirrings!

*Please join in the Facebook Party tonight and enter to win some amazing prizes!

*One more thing - would you please leave a review on Amazon.com when you buy your copy (or get it free in the first 48 hours!). Thanks! Here's the review I left:

"On those days when I am especially weary as a mama, Hope for the Weary Mom: Where God Meets You in Your Mess has encouraged me! What a relief to know that I'm not alone in my experiences with boys chasing each other with light sabers down the hall, yelling at the top of their lungs, or wrestling in the house! :) This expanded edition brought tears to my eyes and laughter to my mouth - the LOL kind! :) It's like medicine. :) I have a copy of the first edition on my Kindles and read both copies side by side. The authors, Stacey Thacker and Brooke McGlothlin, have gone more in depth, sharing from the depths of their experiences when they could have hidden away and pretended to be perfect. That vulnerability is refreshing and encouraging - gives me strength to keep moving forward in the most amazing role I've played yet - Mom. They've also given us examples of women from the Bible who could have hidden, but instead embraced their weaknesses. I encourage every mom (no matter what age) to read this book, be encouraged and strengthened by the words inside, and share with other moms. You don't have to be weary to enjoy it! :) And if you are weary, don't be discouraged - you are not alone! :)"

The Back Story or How I Found "Hope for The Weary Mom"

Maui 2011

A picture is worth a thousands words... I look at this picture today and it represents so much of the last year in my life. There's peace and turmoil all at the same time. And hope. Hope for the future. Hope that in spite of all the ups and downs, twists and turns that life throws my way, Jesus is always there with me. He never leaves me nor forsakes me. (This promise is found numerous times in the Bible - here's a few for you to read: Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:5, Hebrews 13:5.)

This past year has delivered more than it's fair share of weariness to me. I'm sure that some, many, or maybe all of you can relate! My life isn't very tidy and pretty (there's a reason most pictures are close-up shots!). In fact it's rather messy. My emotions tend to creatively go all over the place. :) Early in 2012 I discovered first a website called The MOB Society (Mothers of Boys) where other "MOBs" wrote truthfully about their lives, and I could relate! So amazing how freeing that was to find out that I am not alone! :) I signed up for the newsletter and received a free copy of Hope For The Weary Mom by Stacey Thacker and Brooke McGlothlin. Who doesn't like something FREE? :)

That little e-book encouraged me in so many ways! So when the authors posted a few months back that they were expanding Hope For The Weary Mom and asked for Moms to join their Launch Team, I applied for a space on the team not really believing I'd be accepted. Silly me! I couldn't believe it when they said I was on the Team! Woo hoo! :)

It's been an amazing couple months being a part of something bigger than my mess. :) And TOMORROW (10/23/12) is the big day for the expanded edition of Hope for the Weary Mom: Where God Meets You in Your Mess. :)

Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you more about the new edition and how it's touched my life. :)

Tomorrow's the Day for Hope!

Of course everyday is a good day for Hope. But TOMORROW (October 23, 2012) is the Launch Day for the new expanded edition of HOPE FOR THE WEARY MOM: WHERE GOD MEETS YOU IN YOUR MESS! There's going to be some fabulous giveaways tomorrow. Enter now to get in the running to win an hour of mentoring/prayer with the authors - Stacey Thacker and Brooke McGlothlin, or a new Kindle Fire HD, or one of the many other prizes that have been donated! Here's the website where you can go enter and share! http://bit.ly/Tn1KT9

Gehrke Acre Hobby Farm

Hope for the Weary Mom

I have been blessed to be a part of the Launch Team for the upcoming Expanded Edition of HOPE FOR THE WEARY MOM. It will be released on October 23! So exciting! Stay tuned!

A little bit of this and that...

Who remembers the days before "multitasking" became such a big deal? I can remember being asked in a job interview about 15 years ago if I could multitask. (I said yes, but I was asking myself "What is multitasking?") Yeah, I read somewhere in the past couple years that multitasking slows down efficiency. So true! (And I read a LOT, so it's no surprise I don't remember my source on that tidbit of information.)

Today I get the opportunity to get my house ready for my in-laws coming for a visit and hunting season. :) And I'm multitasking. Using up the last of the bananas in muffins, working on laundry, setting up jobs/chores for the boys, decluttering, making lunch for myself... You get the idea. (I'd say that multitasking has been around a while.)

Here's what I've set up (see picture of chalkboard below) for my boys to help them remember what chores/jobs they need to do. Under their names are the jobs that are their responsibility only. Then below the squiggly line I'll write something in. Yesterday it was "Clean up origami." See, they have discovered the joy of origami and I find it all over the house! :) Not sure yet what today's will be. Hanging from the bottom of the chalkboard is a bucket with folded cards in it. On each card is a job, such as "MIRRORS - bathrooms" or "DISHWASHER - empty". I call these Mystery Jobs. Each day the boys have to pull out a card and do the job on it. When they are done, they have to chalk a checkmark above the card. I'm using old business cards from when I first signed up as an independent consultant with Thirty-One. It's a great way to recycle! :)  So far I'm getting a positive response from the boys. They like that I'm not getting on them about doing their chores. :) A win-win situation! A friend of mine makes these chalkboards. I really like how she left the hinges and latch on this old window frame. You can find more of her items on her Facebook Page. I'll post an update once she gets a website different from Facebook.

Bananas. My least favorite fruit. I don't like them. Unless they're baked into muffins or bread. I don't like to mash them up to get them ready for baking. So, my trick is to put the whole bananas in the freezer until the skins have turned black. Then pull the number of bananas out needed for whatever recipe I'm using (usually two bananas) and let them thaw in a baking dish. Next, snip the ends off with kitchen scissors and squeeze the banana into the mixing bowl. Easy, easy! :) Here's a pic of the process after the banana has already been squeezed out ready to mix with a farm fresh egg that's been beaten. And there's the mini banana chocolate chip muffins in the oven! :) The boys will be happy when they get home from school later.

For lunch today I heated up some leftovers from dinner last night. Ground elk burger seasoned with fresh oregano from the garden, crushed garlic clove from the garden, and cinnamon! Fried potatoes. Green salad. All in a tortilla. So delicious it didn't even need cheese or dressing!

Enough ramblings for today! Back to work! :)

Summer Wrap Up - Part 2

We've done some major pruning around our property since July. More like logging. We weren't able to do much yard work last Fall due to several bouts of illness in the family. So the little Farm was pretty much overgrown.

Overgrown

Pruned

Overgrown wisteria around the power pole

Removed the entire wisteria plant

Wisteria infestation in the walnut tree

Broken walnut branch

Preparing to remove the broken branch(es)

Branch removed! 

The overgrowth was taking over the house! It felt so good to prune away what we could handle - branches touching the roof, the large wisteria infested branch in the walnut tree (one of three by the way!), and other dead and dying vegetation. It's really helped slow down the spiders. And it's been a breath of fresh air to our spirits as well!

A week ago we took out some more trees, smaller ones this time.

Dying weeping cherry

Taking down the weeping cherry 

Logging the weeping cherry

"Timber!"

This area will become my new winter garden area.

A new start!

Weeping cherry - dead heart wood

Hollowing out the weeping cherry - to be upcycled as planters.

Back To School!

It's that time again - back to school! This year Mr. S. has moved on to 5th grade and Middle School! He's glad to be away from all the "little kids" as he calls them. Today is actually his third day there. The Elementary School starts a few days later than the Middle and High Schools in our town. So far I think he's liking it. :) This first 24 days his class is doing chemistry & physics in their science unit - something he LOVES - and they'll be making rockets! :)

Mr. S. - 3rd day of 5th grade, 2012

Mr. M. starts 3rd grade today. This is the year when everything changes! There's more expected of him and his classmates this year than any previous grade. This is the year where they have to wait to get that drink of water or get out of their seats. The teachers love their 3rd graders, but they have so much instruction that there's just no time for goofing off. It's going to be a fun year, though - egg drop, shoebox animal habitats, report about a favorite planet, memorize the major bones in the human skeleton, and more! :)

Mr. M. - 1st day of 3rd grade, 2012

3rd grade school supplies - 2012

This morning at the bus stop we started up the "Gehrke Huddle" once again. This is where we huddle up (hug) and I pray for them and tell them I love them as we wait for the bus to pull up. :) This picture is from the last day of school this past May. They were allowed to wear non-school uniform clothes.

The Gehrke Huddle

My boys are gowing up! Here's a couple more pictures from this morning. :)

I can't open my eyes! It's bright, Mom!

Daisy and her Boy - she picked him out at the animal shelter when he was in Kindergarten. She comes out to say goodbye to him every morning at the bus stop. Daisy has been with us for 6 years now.

Let's Hear It For The Boys!! :)

Summer Wrap Up - Part 1

What a summer! I'm really glad that school starts this week for the little Misters! :) Mr. S. headed off to 5th grade and Middle School this morning. Mr. M. starts on Thursday. I'll get the usual back to school picture then. :) For now, here's a picture from our recent county fair - to be written about in the near future. :)

The chicks have all survived - nearly as big as their "Mama" now. :) Fairly certain there's a rooster or two in the mix! Genetics have always interested me. Looking at the chicks, I can see what breed their real mamas are. The Americauna/New Hampshire crosses are growing the cheek "tufts" typical of their mamas. The Welsummer/New Hampshire crosses are a darker brown and have smooth faces.

See the cheek tufts on the one in front? :)

Americauna/NH Red x

Welsummer/NH Red x

Sadly, we've lost two hens. One was an old girl (though not as old as "Mama"!) and I knew her time was coming soon. The other, "Goldie", was a complete surprise! Mr. M. is in charge of egg collection and found her in the house. We think it might have been the heat. :( So now we are down to six layers and King George.

The drought across the midwest has affected the cost of layer crumbles that I feed to the chickens and chicks. This last bag I bought cost $16.27/50#! King George and his girls are back on a free-range foraging schedule. I'd locked them up in their pen a while back when I kept finding hidden nests containing up to 2 dozen eggs! They are very happy now. Here they are this morning:

King George

King George & Americauna hens: Honey, Roady, and Dove

Free-range foraging heaven!