EKjourney Backup

You always wonder how your day it is going to turn when you awaken to a loud crash and a cry and find that your son has fallen in the toilet. The stool slipped out from under his feet and his hands went into the bowl while his head bonked the toilet seat. Toilets are super gross anyway when you have a 3 year old boy that can pee 5 times his own height (no joke). Spray goes EVERYWHERE and his initial aim isn’t so good. Sometimes I fantasize about a mommy only bathroom or at least having a urinal. When did I start fantasizing about toilets???? Probably when I married Phil. He is tall. We had yummy oatmeal (soaked oats, cooked the next morning in coconut milk with ground hazelnuts and flax seed mixed in) and then got ready for church. We were so late already that we took the scenic route by the longhorn ranch to see the cows. If I ever was to have a field of cows I would want them to be longhorns (really friendly ones). I had a delicious afternoon in the gar...

On this day, 4 months ago, Evangeline was born!! I can’t believe she is 4 months old already. I am just nutty about her!! She is so sweet and cuddly and chubby and cute and yummy! Sigh…she is growing up too fast! Food budget nightmare! Does anyone else struggle to feed their family good, nutritious food on a budget? We spend so much money (that we really don’t have) on groceries. Here is a list: 4 gallons of raw goat’s milk a week (used for drinking, making yogurt, and keifer). 20$ Sourdough bread 3 loaves a week FREE (aren’t we lucky). 3-4 dozen eggs a week (milkshakes, omelets, and ingredients to many things) $10 Produce (salad materials, seasonal fruit, bananas, potatoes, side dishes, etc.) $35 + (this has gone up $10 dollars or more a week since gas prices skyrocketed) Meat (stew meat, chicken, hamburger meat, misc cuts of meat, etc.) $25 Other groceries (this week it was olives, taco shells, wine (marinade), chicken broth,...

What does a homemaker do all day (besides the obvious of watching soap operas and eating chocolate)? Here is my typical week: Over the weekend, I make a menu plan. I write the menu on one half of the paper and the grocery list on the other. In the margins, I write what needs to be done in advance. I basically pick foods from my Nourishing Traditions book – a poultry dish, red meat dish, ground meat dish, a bean/legume dish, and any repeats of the above. This week’s menu: Monday: Breakfast burritos with turkey bacon (Phil’s request) Tuesday: Moroccan chicken, salad, beets, cauliflower Wednesday: Potato leek soup………..this turned into pizza night instead Thursday: Potato leek soup……….this will turn into chicken barley soup using the chicken bones and leftover meat from Tuesday, salad, and croutons Friday: Mom’s b-day celebration (I am playing hostess). I have a big menu planned but can’t say what it is in case she decides to read this. Saturd...

I have had some time today to reflect on the journey of becoming the kind of wife and mother that I want to be. I have noticed that as Phil and I have stepped away from the cultural “norms”, we are put more in a position of really being sure of ourselves and in defense of our lifestyle. So…here goes my ramblings on the subject… First of all, a lot of the changes have been in me. I realized that for the past 30 + years, I have lived a very selfish, self-involved life. There is a lot more to being a Christian than going to church or avoiding the “obvious” sins. It is more about having a heart passionate for the Lord. For me personally, this really entails contentment in my circumstance and not letting my feelings/emotions control my actions. Every situation where I may feel angry, frustrated, annoyed, exasperated, etc. even if justified, needs a response worthy of the daughter of a King. This starts with taking captive of thoughts and emotions before they are unbecom...

We finally had decent weather on the day of a mom’s group so we met at a park. It is always interesting to be an observer. Sawyer immediately runs off to climb whatever is the most dangerous of equipment (while I cringe). Jubilee is much more reserved and stands by me and watches. The more children the less inclined she is to venture out. Anyway, when we first sat down, a man and his son were making quite a scene. The boy (probably 4-5 years old) was pitching a fit because he didn’t want to go home. He was on a bike with training wheels and the Dad was pulling the bike and trying to talk his son into complying. The boy was whining, complaining, name calling, and trying to put the brakes on or drag his feet to prevent the bike from moving. Oh, my! Then there was the lady with the dog. Sawyer came running over announcing that he had to poop and was obviously struggling to hold it in. We went off to the bathrooms as fast as possible. Sawyer was in the lead, ...