A Final Blast?

Way back in November our winter began with a blast - wind and a HuGE dump of snow.

Maybe winter will end with one FiNaL blast???

Clearing the yard yesterday:

This morning we can do it again!

The snow is heavy with a lot of moisture. We're thankful for that moisture and we're thankful to be on higher ground as the spring thaw will likely be coming quickly this year due to its late arrival.

We do live about three miles from the Assiniboine River, but we're at the top of the hill. The Assiniboine characteristically does not flood its banks.

However, Manitobans in the Red River basin are already struggling with high water... and Fargo, North Dakota is furiously sand bagging, bracing for flood levels even higher than in '97. Pray for them ...

Yet we know with confidence that nothing happens without God's knowledge - He is in control! What peace He gives!

EasyClean Stovetop Review

It is now two months since we first applied Turtle Wax to make our "EasyClean Stovetop". It was time to re-apply the wax, especially around the large front burner that we use most frequently.


In review, it is definitely worth it to do this little application - even bi-monthly.

Cleaning the stovetop is so quick and easy with the Turtle Wax applied.

Thanks Mom for making my life just-a-little-bit-easier!

Sawmill Field Trip

Ken & the three oldest of our young men went on a field trip to see a circular sawmill in action.



There ... and back = a board!



This circular sawmill took them on a short day-trip up close to Dauphin, MB.
It was a good day. They saw a lot of good features of that type of mill.
They would also like to see a bandsaw mill in action ... a field trip for another day perhaps.

If we rate onto your prayer list, please pray for us as we seek God's will in this matter ... is this something that He wants us to venture into? We do not want to go where He would not have us.

Savings This Week

I'm sharing my savings with you this week because I want to see it in writing for myself ... and shamelessly I'll admit, in so doing I can also share this post with the HuGE audience over @ MoneySavingMom on her Super Savings Saturday post.

My BEST score this week was a DVD:



I earned a F-R-E-E Worship Guitar DVD from Worship Guitar Class worth $29.95 - I chose the Kids Worship Guitar DVD. I posted about that here.
And I can share the sweet deal with you too. Jean Welles has asked me to share the offer with everyone I know: Check it out to find the details how you can earn one for your family.
These DVDs have been on my wishlist for a while already - now I got one
f-r-e-e. It doesn't come cheaper than that! To God be the glory!
We'll plan to use this to further give God glory with the music we make.

I also scored at the grocery store:
I did my two week grocery shopping trip last Saturday. My total reached just over $200 @ Superstore so I earned a $25 gift card. I used coupons and a $25 gift card from two weeks ago to get my out-of-pocket total down to $157.18.

DH stopped in at a local grocery to pick-up some sale items (everything we needed was not-in-stock) and came home with 2 boxes of "Rice Krispies Squares" - no charge having used 2 coupons worth $2.00 each.

For a total savings of $78.39. Plus I still have a $25 gift card to use next time. Oh, a--nd I do not need to pay shipping or exchange on the DVD from Worship Guitar Class (which I would have done had I ordered it for the twins' birthday, so that's a bonus. However, I will pay taxes on it when I bring it across the border since I'm having the "gift" sent to my U.S. address).

Quick Quiche

This is one of our favorite breakfast meals, often even served up for lunch or supper. Do you ever feel like having breakfast @ suppertime? Here's how:

Quick Quiche
Crust:
1 cup bread crumb mix sprinkled evenly over the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Filling:
4 cups cottage cheese
12 eggs
12 tbsp. cream
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
dash or pepper
1 head broccoli, chopped fine (use the stems also if trimmed & diced)
Mix well then pour gently over the crumb "crust".

Topping:
1 cup grated cheddar sprinkled evenly on top.

Optional: sprinkle bacon bits over the cheese OR crumbled fried sausage or ham can be sprinkled over the crumb base before adding the egg filling.

Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean and center is firm. Remove from oven. Let stand a few minutes, then cut, serve & enjoy.

To make it quick:
1. Crumble and fry the sausage, ham or bacon in a large batch ahead of time. Then put into 1 cup portions and freeze for ready use.

2.Mix up a large batch of bread crumbs (I always use whole wheat) with seasonings:

4 cups bread crumbs
1 cup parmesean cheese
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. ground rosemary
2 tsp. oregano leaves

Store in an airtight container for ready use. I also use this bread crumb mixture for yummy baked zuchinni which I will post at a later date ... keep watching!

Sorry I don't have a picture - we just had this dish yesterday and enjoyed it again as warmed up leftovers today ... but I didn't think about putting this onto a blogpost until this afternoon. Maybe I'll add a picture next time I make it.

Enter to Win a Booga Bag and More

Hey readers, would you like to win a gift?



If your name is drawn, you will receive a Blue and Purple Booga Bag, a box of All Occasion cards, a Decorative Candle with a lid, 4 Spice Jars with colorful lids, 3 Single Servings of Dandy Blend Instant Dandelion Beverage packets, and a Toby Teaboy. Here is a picture of the prize:


Marci @ Amazing Graze Farm (gotta love that name) has posted a giveaway contest for the above gift package. Go here to put in your entry. The draw will be on March 28th.

Last Winter Fun in the Sun

The warm spring sun calls everyone outdoors to enjoy the winter snow while it lasts.







We can always use another man on the farm!

Where's The Camera

Spring into Savings

Yet another great offer this time on topics like: saving money, getting-out-of-debt, frugal living and homemaking tips.


The ladies at LivingOnADime.com and MoneySavingMom.com. have just contacted me to let me know that with the rise in the price of groceries, they have decided to team up to offer you their two grocery savings e-courses along with a huge pile of bonus items. Even better, they are offering this Savin' O The Green 17 e-book package to our readers for $17, a substantial discount off of the regular price of $75 for these e-books.


The e-books that are included in this offer are:


Supermarket Savings 101 eCourse with audio downloads
Grocery Shopping On A Budget eCourse
Money Saving Meats e-book
Saving On Cleaning Supplies e-book
Eating Healthy On A Budget e-booklet
Is Eating Out Eating You Up? e-book
224 Meals In A Hurry e-book
Grocery Savings e-book
Menus That Make Cents e-book
Plan Ahead Leftovers e-book
Quick Dinners e-book
Menu Planning Made Easy
Simply Centsible Breakfasts
Simply Centsible Suppers
Kids Recipes
Menus On A Dime
470 Crockpot Recipes


For more information on this exciting offer, go here.

Earn a DVD plus Commissions!

Another offer for you: check out the Worship Guitar Class website and you will realize this is a ministry opportunity for your family & your world ...

AND not only do they have generous commissions, but also a

*************************************************
FREE GUITAR DVD
*************************************************


If you are interested in joining the Worship Guitar Class affiliate
program, they would like to give any new affiliates that
post their affiliate links or banners in at least 5
places on the Internet and on at least 3 different
websites, or forums, one of their guitar DVD's free.
It's a way to say thank you for helping them spread
the word.

Just signup at this page to join.

It's a 2 tier program which means if others want
to join the program through you, you also earn a
percentage of their sales too.

How easy is that???

Learn to Play Guitar DVD

Would you like to learn the play worship songs on the guitar like a pro?

This unique "play-as-you-watch" process is illustrated in vivid, yet simple,
step-by-step detail in this Christ-centered DVD course.

View an 8-minute audio for an overview and description of the program.
Most of the songs are familiar worship songs to most churches.


7 Good Reasons To Learn To Play the Guitar with
Jean Welles' Worship Guitar Class:
1. It Will Bring You Lifelong Enjoyment.
Playing provides a creative outlet, joy, and comfort.

2. You Will Be Able To Be a Blessing to Others.
Play for and with others, with their take-anywhere instrument.

3. You Can Use It To Worship the Lord.
"Praise Him with stringed instruments" (Psalm 150:4).

4. You Can Experience Immediate Success.
No previous music background is necessary.

5. You Can Learn in the Convenience of Your Own Home.
No need to spend time going out to lessons.

6. You Can Start Anytime.
And at any age, it's never too late to start!

7. You Will Save Money.
Save hundreds of dollars compared to private lessons.

For more information visit Worship Guitar Class.

Signs of Spring

"While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."
Genesis 8:22



We're trying our own bedding plants again this year:




And

... we saw the crows today ... usually that means one more big snow/blizzard before we see the end of winter. Yahoo!

Twice-as-Fast

Twin boys having a birthday today ...


It seems they're growing up twice-as-fast as normal!



""I THANK my God upon every remembrance of you ...
Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ ...
... I have you in my heart ..."
Philippians 1:3,6,7
Thank-you God, for doubling our blessings, multiplying our joys and giving infinite grace when we fall short of Your glory!

Beautiful in Blue

First she was Pretty in Pink, now we can see, Faith Mattaya is also"Beautiful in Blue" - thanks to Auntie Deb who gave her a blue sleeper adorned with ribbons & ruffles, butterflies & blooms. The blue perfectly matches her eyes.


Can you tell she's starting to "coo"?


Her smiles come readily now when she "connects" with you:

Auntie Ollie OverSEAer

Auntie Diana has put hours of love & prayer into every knit and purl of "Ollie the Octopus" for Faith Mattaya - a toy that I trust will become a favorite in the days and years to come.

For now I call it "Auntie Ollie OverSEAer, the Octopus" ... because she can sit so easily on any perch overSEAing her charge. In her mind's eye, Diana could envision her lovingly dragged around by one of her eight legs ... I can "sea" that too, can you?


Just the thought & effort put into it is special, made moreso by the prayers that Diana offered to our Father on behalf of our little Faith Mattaya while she made it. What a lovely idea - with eternal impact!

Isn't that special?

Thanks Diana!

New Every Morning

Like His mercies, God's creations on our chicken coop window are new every morning:



"It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness."

Lamentations 3:22, 23

Another First

Faith Mattaya and her first dolly:


A special gift from friends that may well last a lifetime - it is so cuddly soft & comes with a lifetime warranty. Amazing!

Farmer's Initiation

Our first calf was born mid-afternoon on Saturday after the coldest night of the year.


The mama is a heifer, an extremely protective first-timer.

After licking her baby and following it around the shelter for three hours, our guys were finally able to safely snatch the calf and carry it away to dry it off and warm it up ... in the house!!??
What a farmer doesn't do!!



In three hours the calf had still not gotten a warm drink, the colostrum that it should have had within its first 30 minutes of life. By this time, the calf was hypothermic. Corbyn rubbed it down with some old towels to dry it off and stimulate circulation.
A neighbor had a bottle of colostrum (from a dairy farm) in his freezer for just such an emergency at his farm - we bought it off him, thawed it out and got it into our little calf. Then Corbyn spent the night downstairs near the calf pen (cardboard floor & plywood walls - at the back door) feeding it more when it woke up.

In the morning they returned the calf to its mama. By noon, the calf had still not sucked so Ken confined the mama with corral panels, fed it some luscious alfalfa hay and started milking her to get more colostrum to feed the calf. It worked! Amazing!




Monday morning they got the calf started on sucking and now cow & calf are managing on their own.





There were many anxious thoughts & moments on our part, but again it was an opportunity to have faith in God. He is the Creator, the owner of the cattle on a thousand hills. We serve Him and it was only when we considered this calf "ours" that we experienced anxiety. So Sunday, we decided to go to Church and let God take care of His new heifer calf & her mama - but it was a conscious decision we struggled with for a bit. A precident we had to set, a principle we had to base on faith.

We did all we knew to do - that was our part as stewards of His provision - then we could rest, peacefully confident that He could take care of this calf & her mama.

Timothy named this little calf First Born - how fitting in every way - it is truly God's little heifer calf.

In the midst of the struggle, when the chances looked bleak that the calf could survive its hypothermia I was touched to witness almost-five-year-old Bronlin crawl out from under a table in the basement and confidently state twice that "God will help that calf to get better, 'cause I prayed to Him".

I believe God honored Bronlin's child like faith.



"For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills."
Psalm 50:10