Spring?

About a month ago we saw robins already - yeah, I know it seems terribly early for that.

Today the guys spotted horned larks and bluebirds.

Add to that these warm temperatures that really do make it feel like spring. May be it is just around the corner -- it will likely get colder yet and a couple more storms may blow, but it is still a fact that we're almost through another winter.

Canadian Thanksgiving 2009

Read more about the history of Thanksgiving in Canada.

Free Cake & Pie Server - For Canadians too!

Go here to request your free cake or pie server from Eden Dreams Cake Boutique.

Thanks, MoneySavingMom!

FREE Red "T" - in Canada

Check your nearest grocery isle. Buy a box of General Mills cereal with the FREE red "Signature" T-shirt offer. Each box has a special code to use to request your FREE T-shirt, shipping included to Canadian addresses only. No limit per household ... but there are only 400,000 available for request. Offer ends October 31st, 2009.

My Favorite

I've always really liked crocuses ... and now we live in Manitoba where the provincial flower is the crocus. That makes it extra special. I like spring and they are the first flowers to welcome spring plus I love the color.

I know that Corbyn posted his favorite crocus pictures, but I like some of the other shots he got as well and I just have to share them with you too:

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!

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!

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

4-week supply of Activia yogurt (Canadians only)

For those of you who live in Canada, you can
go here to sign up to receive a coupon for a 14-day supply of Activia probiotic yogurt - at no cost to you. After you try the yogurt for two weeks and take another survey, you'll receive a coupon for a second two-week supply of Activia - their way of saying "thank you" for completing the survey.

Thanks to Crystal @ MoneySavingMom.com for the info on this offer.

Something for You

Do you use coupons to curb your grocery bills?

Here is a Canadian site that offers some pretty good coupons.

Try this link for more coupons from the same place.

Choose what you can use then submit that list and the company will send them to you in the mail, no shipping charges required.

I've used these coupons without difficulty. It trims a little off each bill.

A penny saved is a penny earned!

Have You Noticed?

...the days are getting longer.

...the sun is getting warmer.

...Spring is on it's way!

Our family loves to welcome Spring - and we usually start looking forward to that on December 21 when the days start getting longer again - imperceptibly at first, but longer none-the-less.

I do hope this thought encourages you as much as it does us on this cold day!

Mark's WorkWearhouse $10 Gift Card

You can use this gift card until December 24th to pick-up a gift for a special person in your life. Go here to print it off your printer.

Read the fine print, but check out the store specials ... you just may be able to pick up something for almost no cash out of pocket - at least it's worth a try if you're driving by! Smile!

I love to share a good deal with you!

Higher Power

Canada is in a political state of crisis.

You are needed to call upon the name of the Lord on behalf of our beloved country.

Romans 13:1b & 2 states:
"For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation."

This is a precious promise in times like these. The challenge is before us to call upon the Highest Power, our Father God in Heaven, to intervene on behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper & our Conservative Government.

Democracy is at stake!

Let us as Christians "assist" rather than resist.

Our greatest effort can be expended on our knees before The "Higher Power"

... and whenever we're reminded of the dire circumstances being played out in government offices let's lift our heart's cry to The Lord of Heaven & earth.


To God be All Glory both now & forever!

Kellogs Cereal Offer

Not all coupons are valid in Canada, but if you go here you can print off up to six coupons per computer for a one $1 coupon off of any Kellog's brand cereal.

The coupon does not state that they are only valid in the USA like so many coupons do - watch for an edit note once I've tried this coupon, but it should work.

In addition to that, if you shop at the Real Canadian Superstore they often have an instore coupon worth $3.00 off a purchase of three boxes of Kellog's cereal. Usually there are some boxes priced about $2.97 - $3.48. It does work to stack the 3/$1 manufacturer's coupons with the $3.00 instore coupon to get a total of $6.00 off of three boxes of Kellog's cereal = about 2 boxes free.

1. Print the manufacturer's coupons.
2. Watch the sales.
3. Use instore coupon from Superstore.
4. Stock up on cereals.

Kellog's coupons expire 12/24/2008

Just thought I'd pass along this "deal" to my faithful readers.



Edit note: All the Kellog's cereals are priced high this week at Real Canadian Superstore though they did have the $3 off/3 coupon. Keep checking though - this is a regular instore coupon and they usually will have some of their cereals priced lower. I just didn't need cereals this week so I opted to leave that for another week in expectation of finding better pricing.

FREE Baby Bag+ for Canadians

If you or someone you know is expecting a baby or has a newborn you may wish to check this out. For Canadians only, - not always that Canadians get to benefit from company offers - whoo hoo!

Sign up for the Heinz baby club newsletter and you'll receive a free Heinz Baby Bag which includes a free full size sample of Heinz Nurture infant formula, free changing pad, a growth chart, and more!

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

Bird Watching

The crows are back - so one more blizzard before spring has really sprung? Well, with the temps as cold as they have been - I wouldn't be surprised if we'd still see another winter white-out.

A sea gull flew over the yard to give us a "nature show" over our supper hour on Friday.

On Saturday Ken also heard a meadow lark... and every morning since.

I saw a bluebird on Sunday on our way to Church.

The birds really want us to have spring already too. It is an unusally cool spring this year - someone said it must have something to do with "glodal warming" HA!

"The Birds Came to Sing"

Spring has sprung here in the middle of Western Canada. The temperature is warming and melting the snow...AND the "birds have come to sing".

Benjamin came running into the house to tell me "Mommy, Mommy the birds have come to sing". He and his brothers had gone out to play. In the middle of their play Benjamin stopped to listen to the bird songs. I'm so glad he came to share the news with me.

Little ones often have such a pure reflection on nature. Their joy brings joy to our hearts...making the bird songs a double blessing.

Making History in Saskatchewan

History was made in Saskatchewan this week and though it was rather obscure it marked a step in the progress of our advancement into the frontier.

This advancement came in the area of education.

CLEP services are available in nearly every locale south of the border, but until February 2008 only Calgary and Vancouver offered the CLEP testing sites in Canada.

CLEP stands for College Level Examination Program. It is a little known fact, available to everyone as an option in higher education. It has been around for decades, but particularly in Canada, it is not widely known.

On February 20, 2008, the first CLEP test was written in Regina, at the Wascana Institute.

This is a noteworthy advancement for people in Saskatchewan. No longer do they need to consider the cost of driving to Calgary or into the States in pursuit of their dreams, it is available to them right in our home province.

It has been well over a year now since a few of us Saskatchewan home-educator parents, first began the process to bring CLEP testing closer to home. Though Regina is still 3 hours away, it is closer than our options before. and it is still a possibility that the other community colleges around the province will add the CLEP testing service to their centers once the college in Regina has set precedent & proven the viability & need of just such a service.

We count it a privilege to have had our son, Corbyn, be the first student to write a CLEP in Saskatchewan. Here is a picture of him taking that historic first test:


Yup. He passed. His first 6 college credits to his name.


With distance learning fast becoming a viable option for education since the introduction of the Internet, the venue is changing.

Clep testing gives credit where credit is due - if you write a college test and pass it, you get the credit.

Students attending a brick & mortar institution write the same test and get credits if they pass.

It is possible to pursue most degrees virtually, with a few exceptions.

Do your due diligence as it pertains to your chosen field of study.

If you wish to pursue a combined CLEP and traditional courses to get your degree, be sure to check with the institution through which you would like to receive your degree as to their preferences regarding which CLEP tests they accept - institutions vary.

But be assured, there are Colleges that will award a full bacholer's degree using CLEP testing, life experience, and/or a minimal number of online courses.


So folks, consider this an option for you. Challenge a test, many tests.

Get the credit you are due!

Take Ten Dollars Off at Canadian Tire

Time for a little pick-me-up? Canadian Tire has just what you need for that extra winter boost. To show our appreciation to canadiantire.ca customers, from February 22 to March 2, 2008, you can save $10 on any in-store purchase of $40 or more.*

HOW TO CASH IN ON THIS EXCITING OFFER:
1 - Go to canadiantire.ca for all of the great products you want from Canadian Tire
2 - Print out the TAKE $10 savings coupon
3 - Take the coupon into any Canadian Tire store and you'll get $10 off any
purchase of $40* or more


SPREAD THE JOY

Farmer Freebie

For everyone with a hankerin' to be a farmer, the Western Producer has an offer out for one month of subscriber level access, absolutely FREE!


Explore the Western Producer website while you can ... use Coupon code 653FFB3B79.