Prairie Oak Homestead

I saw this video yesterday and really liked it. Just thought I'd share and hope it encourages someone. :)

I have hope. Yes, I'm sick. Yes, I hurt really bad today. No, there is no cure for my illness. But, I must move on. I must not dwell. I must LIVE. So with the gift of perseverance that God gave me I will do just that. It may not be the way other people live when they are in pain every single day or have a neuromuscular illness, but I can't just sit and ignore life and feel the pain. I need to live life and try to ignore the pain. I have hope that the days ahead will not be as hard as the days past. I have hope that I will be able to enjoy my life that God has so chosen for me. I have hope that He will take me through this and I will build a character that is more like His. I have hope for the day when this will all end and I will forever be pain free. No more pain, no more suffering. I suffer here, but I will not when that Day comes. When I see my Savior face to face. Oh what a day that will be! Until then, I hope to make a difference in this world for Christ. I wil...

Here's a little update. Although my Myasthenia Gravis is progressing, we decided that a treatment would be the VERY last resort due to the ill effects I have had with both IVIG and plasmapheresis. So, he has doubled my immunosuppressive dose. This will slow the progression. I showed him my research on the supplement Moducare and he stated that he didn't care if I took it or not. He said he wasn't sure if it would work or not. But, it's worth a shot. I think it helps as patients to have an understanding of your disease. We need to keep updated on things and the best treatment options for ourselves. We need to know our limits and our strengths. In all this, we need to keep God centered because He is after all the Great Physician. He knows best. I will try the experimental supplement and hope for the best. If nothing else, it should lessen the side effects of the immunosuppressive. It could however, modulate my immune system like the IVIG would and I could pote...

I didn't have an appt until Sept 9th, but I ended up needing to go in sooner. I'm having a lot of weakness, pain, choking, exhaustion, etc. They may want to do a treatment, which I'm not looking forward to. There are a lot of side effects to it and some dangers. BUT, if that is what God wants for me then I'll do it. I was looking at the IVIG info today again after not really thinking about it for several years. It has been 8 years since that particular treatment and that particular 14 day hospital stay being close to death. While looking, I found that it is meant as an immune system modulator. The plasmapheresis is meant to remove antibodies so they don't attack me anymore. :) Well, there is a supplement called Moducare that is an immune system modulator. Most supplements are immune system boosters, which I cannot take. This would be similar to the IVIG but would take more time to regulate than the IVIG would. It looks promising though. I am going to tak...

I haven't posted the last few days because I have been hurting. It takes all I have to do my daily chores. I love this song so much. It gives me a lot of hope for that day. It's kinda long, but enjoy! My husband was sick with an upper respiratory virus last week, also. I don't like when I get behind posting. :( Here are some updates... Hunter has started 4-H robotics. It's a great thing for him to do. He is extremely interested in technology and computers. He will be doing the programming for the robot. He's excited about that! Our kittens are 2 weeks old. :) They are getting so cute! I lost my cell phone while doing yard work this week. :( I have learned not to do yard work with your phone in your pocket. I've never really lost anything and not found it before. I have misplaced things and then found them. But, this is GONE. I feel horrible about it. Now we have to buy a new one. Not really cheap. My husband ordered me one the other day. He o...

John Bull, Cleaning Housewives Dusting Polishing Products Magazine, UK, 1953 I've been working on cleaning the inside of the house really good for winter. I like to deep clean around this time of year and maintain in throughout the fall. Sometime during the winter, I will deep clean again. The woodstove puts out a lot of dust. :) I like to clean the windows, too. Living in the country, I like to see what the Lord created. LOL. Not raindrop marks, etc. Housewife Cleaning Glass Window Slats The next task is going to be cleaning the office. Ugh. I'm terrible at organizing! Ah! John Bull, Messy Rooms Housewives Cleaning Products Magazine, UK, 1959 I'd better get busy! LOL One thing at a time, right? I don't want to exacerbate my Myasthenia Gravis any more than it already is. It may take me a while, but I'll get it done. :)

I like coffee. There I said it. lol. I like to drink it in the morning while on the computer. I like to drink it in the evenings on the porch when it's cool outside and relax. I drink decaf. It's ok. :) Now that my heart acts up from the Myasthenia Gravis, it can't take regular. My favorite coffee is Ethiopian Harrar. It is soooo yummy. But, I can't get it anywhere but Gevalia. No thanks. It's too expensive. I may have to start searching harder in other places. :) I've got some cleaning to do today and laundry to fold and put away. That's ok. I love a clean house. I feel so much more "together" and not irritated or discombobulated. LOL. I pray everyone has a wonderful day. Just remember to slow down and enjoy what God created. The time of year where the leaves change and the trees are beautiful are coming up. :) What a gift. I'm so very thankful for my sight.

Today my husband and I are doing some work to get ready for the winter. We have some wood to split and stack. We have some already done. We also have some trees to cut down and the yard needs mowed. It will be a busy day, but I love to work side by side with my husband. I love to watch him work. :) And I just plain love him. :)

Hunter started a new pottery class for homeschoolers this week. It runs once a month through December. He was very apprehensive at first. He didn't know any of the kids there and the one kid he thought was going to be there, wasn't. He just wasn't quite sure about it at first. After a while of working with the clay, he loosened up and enjoyed it. He's looking forward to going back next month. :) I enjoyed watching him create something. Here he is after rolling out the clay and putting a template on it. He is making wind chimes with a sun decoration. He pulled the template off and now he is painting the sun. The almost finished product. :) He is done painting it, but they cut it into strips and then they have to fire it. I think he did a really good job! :)

These are our kittens that were just born last night. Aren't they adorable! They came from a stray cat that adopted us a couple months ago. She did a really good job and is such a good mama. This was a neat experience for Hunter. :) This is our dog, Magnum. He's a Doberman. He is such a good dog. Very well tempered and quite the family dog. Loves to be on the couch with us! He is so lazy. lol These are some of our chickens. They are still fun to watch and now most of them are laying! :) Yummy farm fresh eggs! I love the country so much and I am so blessed that God allowed me to have this dream of mine. It is so peaceful and so fulfilling I can't imagine anything else. There's nothing like watching the country. You never know what you're gonna see!

Now I didn't title this post "Coping with Myasthenia Graivs " or "Dealing with Myasthenia Gravis ". I titled it "LIVING with Myasthenia Gravis " for a reason. This is an illness that I have and I live with everyday. I was diagnosed shortly after Hunter was born. Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease characterized by varying degrees of weakness of the skeletal (voluntary) muscles of the body. The hallmark of myasthenia gravis is muscle weakness that increases during periods of activity and improves after periods of rest. Certain muscles such as those that control eye and eyelid movement, facial expression, chewing, talking, and swallowing are often, but not always, involved in the disorder. The muscles that control breathing and neck and limb movements may also be affected. ( Also, they found in a handful of people, the cardiac muscle can be affected. I'm in that handful.) ...

This week was kinda busy. On Monday I went to the church to do some data entry and then went to the grocery store. Make that 3 grocery stores. The rest of the week was filled with laundry, vacuuming, dishes, scrubbing the kitchen, cleaning the coop, visiting friends, bible study, mowing, and canning green beans. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind doing these things, it just seems like it came all at once. I'm so worn out. I feel better when it's all done, but I pay for it. I need to learn to pace myself better. It's just that there is so much to be done and so little time. I think tomorrow I will rest up, do dishes, and laundry and that's about it. :) Well, I'll cook supper of course. lol. My weeks are usually not this busy all at once. How do you relax after a busy week?

Proverbs 31:23 - Three Wise Women This Scripture-Picture was lovingly created by Lori @ I Will Take It Lord, All You Have to Give In our first lesson on Proverbs 31:23 , we saw a real-life picture of what an ungodly, unbiblically submissive wife looks like. We witnessed her sinful and wretched prayer life as well as her "holier than thou" attitude against her husband in which Satan so skillfully used to cause much strife and division in her household. Yes, we discovered in our last lesson that I allowed Satan to use me as a baseball bat to beat my husband and recklessly tear down my house with my own hands. "The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down." ~ Proverbs 14:1 Therefore, it is fitting that we now turn our attentions to three women in the Bible that truly understood what biblical submission was all about. In His righteousness, the Lord our God saw it fit to use these women as examples of what a Princess of the King r...

This is the second to last lesson from Sunny that we have. I appreciate her doing these studies and being able to pass them along to you. :) They are very thought provoking and challenging. Proverbs 31:23 - The Crown of Her Husband This Scripture-picture was lovingly created by Lori @ I Will Take It Lord, All You Have to Give . Much like our previous study on Proverbs 31:22 , this verse seems a bit out of place, doesn't it? In our last lesson, we had to stop and consider why this wonderfully, biblically submissive woman, that is so priceless and precious in the sight of the LORD God Almighty, would only provide bed coverings for herself. But after we began to meditate on God's word and turned up our Holy Spirit "hearing aids", we could hear Him gently explain to us how it is that a woman of such noble character is covered: first by the blood of Jesus, the Son of God; second, by the seal of the Holy Spirit until the day of Redemption; and third, by her earthly ...

Arthur is an Amish/Mennonite community about a 1/2 hour away from me. Hunter and I are going there today to visit one of his Mennonite friends, Joe. Joe's grandma, Esther, is the one who showed me how to sew cape dresses and headcoverings. She is a very wise woman. Joe's mom hasn't seen me since I stopped covering and wearing dresses. They both wanted to talk to me today. :) I think Esther is disappointed that I stopped covering. It will be interesting to hear what they have to say after I explain to them why I stopped. I respect them a lot and don't want to disappoint them or want them to think I have slipped away from Christ. I have grown closer to Him. :) I will admit, though, that there are some days I miss wearing my covering and cape dress. It was easier to find something to wear that's for sure. It's so hard to shop for modest clothing at the stores. My husband prefers that I wear jeans now. I think if we grew up Mennonite it wouldn't h...

We stayed at Leiber State Recreation Area in/near Cataract, Indiana. It was an interesting time. :) We got there later on Friday than we wanted to. I just couldn't get things together before we left the house on Friday. I was scurrying around trying not to forget something. We got about 10 miles down the road and I remembered that I hadn't fed the chickens for the weekend! So we turned around and went back and fed them. Then we got back on the road. Where were going was about 3 hours away. We met some of my husband's family there. We got there and set up the tent and then cooked hot dogs over the fire. We were exhausted that night, but sat around the fire for a while before going to bed. As a result of the hot dog (my body does NOT like those) I spent most of the night here. The outhouse that had no door or sinks. It was ok. Really. No. I lied. It was gross! lol It was so fun watching all the spiders making their attack plan to get me as I sat there. lol. ...