Our nature walk and cave exploring.

SoOoOoO we have the CUTEST little park by our house with 3 caves you can explore. One of them is a wide mouth cave with water coming out of the entry way. The water is freezing cold all year around but the kids don't seem to mind to much. The other 2 you can walk right into and  if you have a flashlight it helps but  can walk all the way to the back of them. There are bats which kind of creep the kids out but what is a cave without bats?!  They also have an amazing little trail to take a nature walk on. The kids get to see all kinds of animals and plant life plus they feel like they are in the middle of the forest and on a big hike. Here are some pictures of our nature walk / cave exploring from today.

Baked sliced potatoes w/ sliced onions and butter

This is by far one of my families favorites side dishes. It is soooo simple and can totally be make ahead of time and stored in the fridge until your ready to bake it. So here it goes.

Ingredients 

• 1 medium sized onion 
• 6 large potatoes
• 2 sticks of margarine or butter
• Salt and Pepper

• A good amount of potatoes. (this will vary depending on how many people your feeding) Peeled and sliced in half first and then into about 1/2 inch thickness.  

• 1 medium sized onion cut into thin slices

• Place sliced potatoes into a baking dish.
• Cover with the sliced onions.

 Cut butter into 1/2 in slices and lay on top of the sliced potatoes and onions.

 Sprinkle your salt and pepper and any other random seasoning you think would make it taste great! I sometimes add a little garlic powder or cloves.

 Cover loosely with foil and bake for 40 mins @350F

TADA!!!!

Now I must give credit where credit is due. I got this recipe from my cousin Shawnacee Moore who has an amazing story and blog of her own. She is an incredible mother and wife. You will love the way she writes her story of love, romance, heartbreak, tragedy, and humor.

 Her blog can be found at www.mommadooright.blogspot.com

Baby or no baby?

Well lately all my kids have been able to talk about is wanting a little mini baby (there words not mine) The boys say they only want one if its a boy and sariya says she only wants one if its a girl. SoOoO I have worked my butt of trying to talk them out of these crazy things! I mean gosh we are already a family of 5. One more and I would never be able to own a normal sized car! LOL I know I know not the biggest thing to worry about. Well this morning joshua started in again saying he wished he has a little mini baby and wish I had a video of how our conversation went but i might do a mini interview with him later and i am sure we will get just as much of a kick out of it cause his brains comes up with the funniest stuff naturally.
Well anyways it went like this Joshua says "*sigh* I wish we had a little mini baby so I could give it the baby books on my shelf." I said "Yeah but you know that babies cry ALOT right?" Joshua without even hesitating to think about it says "Yeah but I could just put your shooting pink ear covers on" (my ear plugs for shooting) and I said "Well you know they poop alot and it stinks right?" Joshua says "Yeah but you would change the diapers not me." I said  "You know there alot of work right?" He said "Yeah but I am such a hard worker boy!" I couldn't sway him to my side so I just said "Go talk to your father." LOL!I don't know what were gunna do with these kids.

Does milk from cows given rBGH hormone affect the milk or not?

So the big controversy right now is does milk from cows given rBGH growth hormone affect our families. One of my fav post that I have found on this topic that i believe is somewhat fair to both sides is

 EarthTalk: Do Hormones Given to Cows Make Milk Unsafe? | Environment | AlterNet

There is obviously a quick effect that shows up in our cows. Making up to 50% greater incidences for infections of lameness and hoof problems and 25% get udder infections like mastitis and major reproductive issues which in return means they will be giving them even more antibiotics. Which also means you will be giving your family more antibiotics and hormones through there milk. There have also been studies which have proven since we ingest so many antibiotics through our milk and meat that it is effecting our ability to fight off diseases since our bodies find a way to bypass things if it gets them on a regular basis. They have found that humans who consume milk with rBGH to have a higher lever of IGF-1  and more prone to Breast, prostate, colon and many other cancers. There thought and ideas are that our natural protection from early cancerous cells is blocked by consuming IGF-1.
For this reason I have decided to switch my family from cow milk provided by companies that give there cows rBGH to all natural organic milk. Cows which are not only kept from getting the rBGH but also who don't take antibiotics of any kind. The farmers who choose to keep there cows organic choose natural ways of healing there cows ailments.

So far my children haven't noticed a change of the taste AT ALL. Even though the package is different they adapted right away. The 2nd day we had switched to the organic milk I asked my son caleb who is 2 1/2 to get me the milk out of the fridge, he immediately grabbed the organic container with no question. I was amazed at how the kids didn't care that the package had changed or what it looked like as long as they got there milk. LOL. We chose the 2% horizen or the 2% great value brand. They both taste just like regular milk with the exception of a slightly stronger after taste. (I am actually the only one who noticed this) everyone else in my family say im just crazy and that there is no taste diffrence. :@)

Praise of a Good Woman

10	Proverbs 31: 10-31 Who can find a virtuous woman?          For her price is far above rubies.
11	The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her,          so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12	She will do him good and not evil          all the days of her life.
13	She seeketh wool, and flax,          and worketh willingly with her hands.
14	She is like the merchants' ships;          she bringeth her food from afar.
15	She riseth also while it is yet night,          and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
16	She considereth a field, and buyeth it:          with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17	She girdeth her loins with strength,          and strengtheneth her arms.
18	She perceiveth that her merchandise is good:          her candle goeth not out by night.
19	She layeth her hands to the spindle,          and her hands hold the distaff.
20	She stretcheth our her hand to the poor;          yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21	She is not afraid of the snow for her household:          for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22	She maketh herself coverings of tapestry;          her clothing is silk and purple.
23	Her husband is known in the gates,          when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24	She maketh fine linen, and selleth it;          and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25	Strength and honor are her clothing;          and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26	She openeth her mouth with wisdom;          and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27	She looketh well to the ways of her household,          and eateth not the bread of idleness.
28	Her children arise up, and call her blessed;          her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29	Many daughters have done virtuously,          but thou excellest them all.
30	Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain:          but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
31	Give her of the fruit of her hands;          and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Cute mother sayings I love.

1) A man's work is from sun to sun, but a mother's work is never done.  ~Author Unknown
2) The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.  ~Honoré de Balzac
3) If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been.  ~Robert Brault
4) Women's Liberation is just a lot of foolishness.  It's the men who are discriminated against.  They can't bear children.  And no one's likely to do anything about that.  ~Golda Meir
5) She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn't take them along.  ~Margaret Culkin Banning
6) I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights.  ~Terri Guillemets
7) Mother - that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries.  ~T. DeWitt Talmage
8) A daughter is a mother's gender partner, her closest ally in the family confederacy, an extension of her self.  And mothers are their daughters' role model, their biological and emotional road map, the arbiter of all their relationships.  ~Victoria Secunda

My goal for a healthy and better lifestyle.

Life doesn't have to be complicated to be healthy and that is what I am going to try to set out and prove. As a matter of fact I think it will actually get a lot simpler once you know what you are putting into your families bodies. We have to have fuel to run on just like a machine or car requires and a car can't work properly if we put dirt and gunk into its fuel system but for some reason we think its ok to put junk it into our bodies fuel tank and then expect it to never get sick, to always have plenty of energy and to keep the extra weight off. Well why would we expect so much from it when you get out of something what you put into it. Our bodies are using so much energy just to digest and get what little nutrients it can out of the food we give it that by the end of the day we are exhausted both mentally and physically. Well I am going to do an experiment I guess you could call it, with my family of 5 :@) We will be taking the things that we normally eat and swapping them out with as natural and organic as I can get. We will be starting slow and just simply replacing the things we use on a daily to weekly basis. I will be noting any difference or changes that I see with my family. I will also be letting my kids critic the things I change to see if they even notice a taste difference. Some of the biggest things I a hoping to change first are my children daily vitamins, milk, meats, and produce. Hope you will join us on this journey and start making simple easy changed that will effect your families future as well.