Seven States in Five Days

Originally I had intended to post to my blog every day of our trip mostly so I could remember what we did on our vacation. But, here we are six days into it and I am just getting started. This is mostly due to the fact that we have been arriving at our motel late and leaving early, plus three of us trying to use only two computers.

We started out on Friday after my orthodontist appointment in Montrose and my periodontist check-up in Grand Junction. We were hoping to at least get out of Colorado the first day, but only made it as far as Limon. We ate dinner at the Casa Bonita restaurant in Denver and the boys were totally overwhelmed with all the cliff divers, mariachis, and gunfighting cowboys. It is quite a wild place and reminds me more of an amusement park with its videos playing while you wait in the long lines to pick up your food.

The second day we headed out of Colorado to the plains of Kansas. We stopped at one of the nicest rest stops/visitor’s centers just across the border. Then it was corn field after corn field. We visited the Railroad Museum in Ellis, Kansas. The model railroad setup was very cool. We stopped at the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas, but it was closing by the time we got there.

We arrived in Kansas City around dinner time but first made a stop at the Cabela’s store which was definitely a highlight of our trip. This was another amusement park type experience, but in a good way! The boys enjoyed the shooting gallery and the huge display of animals from all over the world. It was better than a zoo since these animals were nice enough to stand still for pictures .

It was another late night arrival to our motel in Columbia, Missouri (at least I think that is where we ended up stopping that night.) The next day we had breakfast at Bob Evans in Missouri, lunch in Illinois, a snack in Indiana, and a late dinner at Bob Evans in Kentucky. And we had arrived at our current location of Florence, Kentucky where we are staying during the North American Christian Convention which is taking place just a few miles away across the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio.

On Monday Ken went to NACC and set up our booth first thing in the morning. Then we all went to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky which is just a few miles from the motel. The museum was definitely another highlight of our trip so far. It is a truly wonderful place and we spent the whole day there taking it all in.

I have definitely enjoyed the scenery of each state we’ve traveled through. It gets greener and greener the further east we travel and thick with trees. We are also enjoying the convention and reconnecting with some familiar faces, plus meeting new folks who will hopefully visit us one day in Colorado at Norwood Christian Ranch in the coming years.

Well, I need to head out to pick up Ken and bring him back to the motel. We will be packing up again tomorrow night and heading out for Cleveland to see some of Ken’s relatives on Friday. I will try to update as soon as I can.

Slow Dance

My husband’s sermon Sunday was on resting, something maybe we all need to do once in awhile. Then I came across this poem that I published years ago in our old homeschool group’s newsletter. I’m not sure where it came from or who the author is, but it goes along with the Sunday message.

SLOW DANCE
Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round
Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.

Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask, “How are you?”
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.

Ever told your child, we’ll do it tomorrow
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,”Hi!”
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift….
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower.

Hear the music.

Before the song is over.

Father’s Day Gift Idea

Our family is excited to announce that Volume 1 of our new Pastor’s House Father-Child Projects DVD series is finished and now available for ordering. This has been quite a family effort. Our six-year old son got his first on-screen experience and appears alongside his dad in the DVD. Our 20-year old son did all the camera work and editing. The rest of us helped with proofing and reviewing.

The DVD itself came out great and has a couple of projects that can be made by dads and their children together. They’re not complicated and the final products are things the whole family can enjoy for years to come. The neat thing is there is even a bible lesson that is tied into the main project.

Check out www.PastorsHouse.com/DVDPreview.htm for all the details about the new DVD designed to help father’s build strong relationships with their children. You will also find a list of the bonuses worth more than $30 we are giving to the first 100 people who order.

There’s even a way for you to give this DVD and all the bonuses as a Father’s Day gift. So please check out our website right now, take a look at the DVD preview. Again, the website is: www.PastorsHouse.com/DVDPreview.htm

Thanks for taking the time to check it out!

Virtual Homeschool Convention hosted by Cindy Rushton

I just finished listening to an amazing online seminar. It was Cindy Rushton’s Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2008. What a great source of encouragement – and I didn’t have to leave my home – perfect for anyone who lives in a remote area and the closest Convention is seven hours away!

This Virtual Homeschool Convention promises to make homeschooling easy and doable! Right there in the comfort of your home! They have an amazing speaker line-up (Crystal Paine, Janice Campbell, Jill Novak, Jim & Sheila Carroll, Lorrie Flem, Marilyn Moll, Marilyn Rockett, Michelle Geffken, Rhea Perry, Tammy Cardwell, just to name a few), a fantastic vendor hall full of special offers and free gifts, PLUS a Mommy Grab Bag that is completely amazing!

Just imagine…no crowds…no makeup…no walking blocks and blocks…no expensive trips or hotel stays…no babysitters!

I know. I know – I am telling you about it after it is finished. But, I want to tell you how YOU can still listen in. Cindy recorded it for the Ultimate Homeschool Expo Membership Site. For those who buy a ticket to the event, we can access the INCREDIBLE Membership Site that will feature all of the audios/transcripts from the event for download…awesome vendor webpages…and all of the wonderful freebies that are being given out for attendees.

So, grab that ticket while it is only $40. After everything is online and Cindy can take a breath, the price will be changing to $99.95

Please check it out today. It is the Homeschool Convention that keeps on going! You can download all of the sessions from the Membership Site.

Take a peek at the website for more information:

Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2008

You won’t want to miss it!

What’s A Glycemic Index?

Since starting on the Schwarzbein Principle, we have also been using the Glycemic Index rating of foods to determine what we should and shouldn’t eat. Our doctor gave us a nice chart when she discovered that my husband is borderline diabetic. She told him to only eat those foods that are 45 or lower on the chart, so that is the magic number for us.

The glycemic index gives us an idea of which foods raise our blood glucose fastest and highest. It is the rate of absorption of carbohydrates. This chart does not take into account the quantity of food, but you can figure out the Glycemic Load with this formula:

Glycemic Load = [GI] x [total carbs (in grams, minus fiber content)]

The chart our doctor gave us says to keep the Load below 300 per meal. Since this involves too much math for me when I’m trying to prepare a meal, we just try to limit any foods that go over the 45 mark. I really don’t have all day to spend in the kitchen! It is time consuming enough since we’ve eliminated processed foods from our meals.

There are a lot of web sites that have GI lists, and I found a few discrepancies in the numbers, but nothing too major. This chart is fairly simple and it has worked for our family. If there’s a food that isn’t on the list, I’m sure it wouldn’t take too much research to find out the information you need.

Anyway, here is the chart. I hope you find it helpful.

VEGETABLES GI
Parsnips	97
Baked Potato	85
Pumpkin	75
Beets	64
Corn	55
Sweet Potato	54
Yams	51
Carrots	49
Green Beans	40
all lettuces	<30
cauliflower	<30
eggplant	<30
onions	<30
radishes	<30
yellow squash	<30
water chestnuts	<30
sauerkraut	<30
tomatoes	15

FRUIT
watermelon	72
pineapple	66
cantaloupe	65
raisins	64
mango	56
banana	54
kiwi	53
grapefruit juice	48
grapes	46
orange	44
peach	42
plum	39
apple	38
pear	37
apricots, dried	31
grapefruit	25
cherries	22

SWEETENERS
maltose	105
glucose	100
sucrose (table sugar)	64
high fructose corn syrup	62
honey	58
fructose (fruit sugar)	22
splenda	7
Stevia	3

DAIRY PRODUCTS
Tofutti	115
Ice cream, full fat	61
Yogurt, sweetened	33
Skim Milk	32
Soy Milk	30
Whole Milk	27
Yogurt, plain	14
GRAINS & CEREALS
french bread	95
instant rice	90
cornflakes	83
pretzels	81
white bread	78
waffles	76
cheerios	74
bagel	72
shredded wheat	69
wheat bread, high fiber	68
stoned wheat thins	67
grapenuts	67
couscous	65
hamburger bun	61
white rice	58
pita bread	57
muesli	56
brown rice	55
special K cereal	54
oatmeal, slow cooking	49
rye kernel bread	46
pita bread, stone ground	45
all-bran cereal	42
spaghetti, white	41
spaghetti, protein enriched	27
LEGUMES
baked beans, canned	48
pinto beans	39
chickpeas	33
black beans	30
kidney beans	29
lentils	29
peas, dried	22
soy beans	18

OTHER FOODS
dates	103
jelly beans	80
rice cakes	77
vanilla wafers	77
french fries	75
graham crackers	74
pizza, cheese	60
popcorn	55
chocolate	49
olives	18
nuts	15-30

MOST COMMON HIGH GLYCEMIC OFFENDERS:

alcohol - beer and drinks made with juice, soda or sugar

candy - all types

dried fruits – except apricots

frozen yogurt – pure sugar and carbs with no fat or protein to slow the rate of absorption

sugar-sweetened beverages – Coke, Sprite, Snapple, bottled teas, spritzers

Sugar - on coffee, tea and on cereal

tubers & roots – parsnips, potatoes, beets, etc.

watermelon

refined foods – cereal, breads, cookies, rice/rice cakes, crackers

P.S. This chart came from Cenegenics Medical Institute

Patience & Perseverance

I had a timely talk with a good friend this morning on patience and perseverance. The morning started out with a rather disturbing discovery. I went to let our chickens out this morning only to discover that something had extricated one of my baby chickens through a 1” gap between the bottom of the door and the cement floor. These birds are just over six weeks old. I won’t go into further detail, but it reminded me of something out of a horror movie. Not the way to start my morning to say the least.

I had just been thinking the day before how my patience would payoff and I was looking forward to a dozen eggs a day from this flock in just a few months. Sometimes it seems like that is such a long ways off, but then I realize it is June already – where did May go?

Patience is one of those things I deal with daily, if not constantly. Patience for my order to arrive with my bulk supply of almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds and coconut oil; patience for the weather to warm up enough to plant our garden; patience for my mouth to heal so I can eat solid food again, like the yummy fresh wild asparagus we just picked today; patience for a web page to load so I can figure out how to put the line on my new fishing pole; patience for our house in California to sell after being on the market for almost two years.

Am I really that impatient a person, or is God just continually teaching me about perseverance? I have to remember to stay in His presence which is where my strength comes from to persevere and be patient until the answer comes. That’s where I find my joy and pleasure even when having to wait for things.

As the Paul Overstreet song says, “Till the answer comes you gotta keep praying!”

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing…” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

Fitness for Busy Moms

Here’s a great resource I recently came across for those of us moms who want to get back into the shape we were in before kids!

There is a free report that you can download of “The Top 5 Busy Mom Metabolism Boosters.”

Just click on this link for more information: Fit Mummy

I’m going to give it a try…anybody else up for the challenge?

Memorial Day Dinner

On Memorial Day we had our first homegrown chickens for dinner the other night with our friends who helped us with the butchering. Heather roasted a rooster and a hen. The hen was juicier, but they were both very tasty. We had salad and a yummy corn dish that Dori prepared with frozen corn from last year’s Olathe sweet corn festival, plus some wonderful pickled beets that Ernie made.

I think some of the best meals are those prepared with natural, homegrown ingredients, and even better when shared with friends. I’m looking forward to more homegrown meals this summer and fall especially if we are blessed with a harvest from our soon-to-be planted garden.

We are finally experiencing warmer days and the evening temps are staying above freezing now, so we should be able to get some root crops going at least. We started some lettuce indoors and it has sprouted and looks ready to get in the ground.

Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD. Psalm 96:12

Dental Surgery

It was an experience for sure and one I hope not to have to ever go through again. I had a procedure done called Wilkodontics which is basically an accelerated orthodontic procedure that involves bone grafting. I also had an Alloderm gum graft, plus the removal of one of my lower front teeth. Since I was under anesthesia for the whole thing it wasn’t that bad after all. Really the main pain was the self-induced worrying ahead of time (and the bill afterwards.)

I still have six to nine months of wearing braces ahead of me, which is considerably less than the 24 months if I hadn’t had the procedure. I am on a soft food/liquid diet for the next couple of weeks, which might get a little old after awhile, but I’m not complaining yet.

I’m also supposed to restrict my talking for a bit, so maybe that will mean more time to blog – we’ll see!

Praising God for directing me to a wonderful periodontist and a Christian orthodontist.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Homegrown Chicken

I’m certainly glad this morning is over. With a dear friend’s help, we managed to get through our first chicken butchering experience. It really wasn’t as bad as I had feared it would be. And now we have something in the freezer to show for our efforts.

I think my husband had the worst part of the job, but all in all, we’re looking forward to trying this again – and we haven’t even tasted the meat yet. Neither of us were up to chicken on the menu for dinner. I think we’ll give one a try for a Sunday afternoon dinner though.

In twelve short weeks we raised six Red Cornish chickens. Of course, this is twice the time it takes them to grow the ones you buy at the grocery store. The two roosters dressed out at five pounds each and the hens were in the 3 to 3 1/2 pound range. They might have been able to go another week or so, so now we know that for next time and will let the hens go a little longer if need be.

My friend and I got the plucking/gutting job down pretty good by the time we were done. It sure was a lot easier than doing a turkey. Plus we were blessed with a nice cool day with just a little wind so we didn’t have any flies or heat to deal with.

My six year old son was fascinated by the entire process. He knew all along why we were raising this particular batch of birds. He watched dad chop off the first one’s head and then darted over to see the rest of the process take place. He wanted to save all the feet, but we talked him into just a pair for him and his younger brother. They enjoyed pulling the tendons in the feet to make the feet move.

He helped me identify all the innards for a mini-biology lesson. He even asked to take the guts out of the last bird which was great since his hand is a lot smaller than mine. He will be a great help in the future and will probably be able to do the job himself in a few years.

After figuring out our cost per bird and per pound, it definitely works out to be more expensive than just buying any old chicken at the market, but less expensive than purchasing an organically raised chicken. So guess I’ll need to look into getting some more chicks in the next couple of months so we can have another batch ready to go in the fall.

I’ll let you know how they taste…and I know exactly what went into these birds.

Chickens In Your Backyard: A Beginner’s Guide