Prairie Oak Homestead

Today is my *cough* my 34 birthday. :) Most days I don't feel 34. LOL I have gotten some nice gifts. I posted my dad's gift in the last post, but I also got shopping money from my mom. I was able to get two nice denim skirts that are very cute! My husband is going to take me out to eat and then do some shopping for some shoes and such. Looking forward to that. :) I am thankful for a lot of things this year... Thankful for my sight, which I lost briefly in 07. Thankful for my husband of 13 yrs Thankful for my son of 12 yrs Thankful for my family Thankful for people listening to God in their life and being obedient to His will Thankful to live in the country Thankful for the beautiful leaves this year Thankful for the simple things in life Today also marks another birthday. This day 10 yrs ago my husband and I were born again. We were baptized together on this day. Funny story... The particular church we attended then wore white robes to be baptized in. Well hubby wore h...

isn't until the 31st, but my dad gave me my gift early. I just had to share it with you...He is very talented and made this himself out of part of a cedar tree he cut. I am so thankful for him and will treasure this gift always. :) This is an important scripture to me. There are so many applications to it for different seasons of my life. :)

for winter that is... It seems to take a while. LOL. Today we (Hunter and I) are going to work on stacking wood on the back porch. We have a very large rack back there and it will take a while to stack. It's hard getting ready for winter when your husband works from sun up to sun down. Sometimes I need more muscle power. LOL. Hunter does a pretty good job. I also have some more cleaning to do and need to change out the seasonal clothes. I also have some sewing to do today. I'd like to make some more denim skirts. I did buy two online with some money that I got for my birthday coming up Saturday. I've had a headache for two days that I'd like to get rid of. :) It just makes doing your work so much harder. But, I will focus on things above and not on myself, which is so easy to do when you are hurting. It's funny...people usually seek the Lord when they are hurting and not when things are good. I am the opposite. I seek Him and focus more on Him when thi...

The trees have been beautiful this year! I know I've talked about it like crazy, but it just seems so wonderful to me. The simple things in life are what stirs my soul. Here are a few pics from our back porch (the horse is our neighbors)... I went to Arthur today with some friends to get some meat, but stopped at a store called Beachy's, an Amish bulk food store, for a few other things. :) Here's some of them... I got some orange slices, popcorn, and almonds. :) And oh this cheese! THIS cheese... Oh my this CHEESE... Can ya tell I like it? I like it a lot... It's wonderful on chili, tortilla chips, crackers, crackers and deer sausage, by itself....*sigh* I should have bought more... I'm eating a chunk of it as we speak...oh the simple pleasures! :) God is GOOD!

I made this dessert for our small group the other night. Ryan really liked it. I thought it was pretty good, too. I ran out of the spices so it wasn't as bold as usual. I made it gluten free also. Crust One box of Pamela's GF shortbread cookies with pecans, crushed (if you are doing it regular you can use 1 1/2 c of shortbread crumbs.) 3 T melted butter 3 T GF flour mix Filling 11 oz cream cheese 1 c sugar 3 T GF four mix 1 t cinnamon 1/4 t nutmeg 1/4 t ginger 1/4 t cloves 3 eggs 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin 1 T milk Mix crust ingredients together and press into a pie pan. Bake at 375 for about 10 or until golden brown. Beat flour, cream cheese, and sugar together until fluffy. Take out 1/2 c and put to the side. Add the rest of the ingredients except milk to the bowl and mix. Pour onto pie crust. Mix milk with the 1/2 c cream cheese mixture and plop on top of pie in little mounds around the pie. Take a knife and swirl the cream cheese mix into the pie...

Good morning all! It's a bit dreary here in central Illinois, but oh how the leaves look so pretty against that blue/grey sky! I have a goal today to get things organized as much as possible. There just seems to be a little bit of stuff everywhere that's not in it's proper place. I should have the whole day to do it. I'm gonna try real hard! :) Our son has somehow gotten into the habit of leaving his socks and stuff EVERYWHERE in the house. Granted our house is fairly modest in size so it seems like it's overtaking every room. :) I hope to give him a lesson on keeping his socks picked up today. ;) This picture is kinda how my son is while I'm cleaning. Oblivious...LOL Hopefully I can make him more aware that his help is very much appreciated. So, not really a whole lot going on today. Just tidying up the house as it's getting ready to be shut up for a long, hard winter. I like it to be really clean before that happens. :) Hope you all have a bless...

I love this time of year. It is so pretty. The colors on the trees are phenomenal this year. The cold nights and mild days have made for beautiful foliage. Every time I see a tree like this, I feel like I'm in the very presence of the Lord and a calming peace washes over me. Now, I realize the Lord is always with us, but there is just something about the beauty of nature that really tunes me into Him. I like to slow down and enjoy it all. The smells of the house, the feel of the warm, soapy dishwater on my hands, the sounds of the birds and the crackle of the wood stove, and the taste of good down home cookin'. I don't think God wants us in a rush. To just be oblivious to His creation. We are worshiping Him when we acknowledge His handiwork. I also like this season of my life. I have been feeling better (I still have my weak days), my husband and I celebrated 13 yrs of marriage yesterday, I have a wonderful son who I am learning more and more about, I have been b...

Well, I'm back to wearing them. This time I am really happy about it. :) It was weighing on my heart for a while that I just didn't feel modest enough in my jeans. I talked with my husband about this because he is the one who really wanted me to wear jeans. He enjoyed "looking at my shape." I enjoyed him looking at my shape, too. I just didn't enjoy others looking at my shape. We talked it over and he realized that I was being a stumbling block to other men. He really didn't want that. Finding pants/jeans that are modest is very difficult to do. They are cut for a females shape. If you find looser ones, they usually look pretty silly. So we decided skirts will be just fine. They are feminine and pretty. It was difficult when I wore skirts before because I was very plain jane. My husband didn't like that at all. I have found a few skirts that are modest, feminine, and cute and he likes them a lot. I believe modesty is a heart issue first and...

I am continuing to feel good. What a blessing that is! Being off the chemo medicine has really been good. I have had more energy, more of an appetite, more of a spring in my step, and more determination. :) Digging deeper in the Word and learning more about the Lord. What a blessing to have that Book at our fingertips! Having a husband that truly loves you is a wonderful blessing. Being warm and cozy from the warmth of the fire in the wood stove. I look forward to it every year. Having the honor to call someone "dad" who isn't my biological dad. God has placed this person in my life to fill a great void. My "real" dad doesn't want anything to do with me and my step-dad was killed almost 3 years ago (3 days after my birthday) I am so blessed that God has decided to use this man to show me love as a dad would. Having a son with a tender heart and a love for animals. (He left me a note the other night on my pillow that read "I love you") Livi...

Did you know... I was born in Connecticut I have lived in 8 states (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachucets, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Virginia, and New Mexico) I have been to more states than I have lived in (all the above plus, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississsippi, Wisconsin, Michigan, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Colorado) I'd like to visit Montana, Wyoming, and Alaska I met my husband when I was 18 and he was 16 We married when I was 20 (almost 21) and he was 19 I was a nurse when I was 18 up until 2001 I have a neuromuscular illness called myasthenia gravis I was pregnant one month after getting married I went into preterm labor at 7 mos, the labor was stopped, then he was late! My husband and I were baptized together in 1999 I love being a keeper at home I like t...

A woman must bear up under many cares and burdens in a single day. She has a husband to please, children to nurture, train and educate, and a home to maintain. Her call is not just to perform her duty, but in that duty, bring glory to God in the way she responds to those the Lord has entrusted to her. If she is lacking the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit she will have cause to be in constant irritation, being easily provoked daily. While governing our families, we are in need of this grace in order to keep our own spirit under control. Meekness is spoken of as an adornment that is incorruptible ( 1 Peter 3:3-5). Unlike the adornment of our clothes which fade with the wearing, the graces of the hidden man become stronger in time. It is a softness of temper, a gentleness, forbearance under provocation and injuries, void of passion, pride and immoderate anger. The work and office of meekness enable us to control our own anger when we are provoked, and patiently bear the anger of other...

Our anniversary is the 19th, but we are celebrating it tonight with friends who have their anniversary close to ours. We will be married 13 years. Over the last 6 years we have really grown in our marriage. We've had our good times and bad, sickness and health, richer or poorer...But, we've grown stronger through it all. I met my husband when he was 16 and I was 18. We worked at the movie theater together and found out that we went to the same high school. I had prayed for a kind, gentleman that was unlike the other boys I had dated. They were too forward and after one thing. ;) The next day I met Ryan. I would always be cold at the theater and my hands would be like ice. He would take my hands in his and warm them up. *aw* He says he fell in love with my voice before he even saw my face. I had my back turned to him when coworkers introduced us and I was talking at the time. We married when he was 19 and I was 20. October 19, 1996. :) We have such a deep connection...

Today the sun is shining and the air is not so cold. It's refreshing actually. I have really enjoyed being out in it. I have felt pretty good today. I've had more energy and was able to clean out the chicken coop. So glad that's done. :) My appetite is cracking me up! I am hungry like every 2-3 hours! I made granola bars today to snack on. Maybe my body is needing extra energy for getting better. ;) It's nice to feel like eating again though. :) Hunter had a bit of the flu for a couple days. He is much better today after sleeping 12 hours yesterday. :) I went with my husband yesterday to watch him shoot his bow. Not too much fun, but the ride was nice. ;) The weather isn't looking too good for tomorrow and Friday. He'll probably be off. :( The joys of being a roofer for 13 yrs or so. We're used to it... I really do love the see the sunshine. It just stirs my soul to look up into the sky and there not be a cloud in sight. I so value the beaut...

We've decided (my husband and I) for me to stop taking the chemo/ immunosuppressives . They have really made me sick and it's just not the way we want me to live. There was a time I didn't take them because they caused some cancer (cervical) and I didn't want to get any other cancer. During that time, I felt really good and then a tragedy happened in our family and that's when I started getting worse again. The medicine has caused anemia and me feeling sick to my stomach ALL the time. I can't live that way. I am going to continue to take the experimental supplement and the Mestinon for neuromuscular function and see where that leads. I think it will be a great benefit to be off that chemo drug. I feel like I have been poisoning myself with it for so long and when they doubled it, well, that was just too much. Today is the first full day without it. It may take a good week to get it out of my system to where I feel better. I'm hoping that happens ...

Sleepy Anyone else exhausted??? I am completely and utterly exhausted. It's hard to realize what a medicine can do to you. This immunosuppressive seems to be causing some anemia and that just wreaks havoc on my body. It causes me to have tachycardia, very achy legs, shortness of breath, and extreme fatigue. But, it's nothing a little iron won't fix. I need to eat some spinach! ;) I love fresh spinach salad so I'm going to start with that. I haven't taken a regular vitamin, so I'm going to start that, too. :) It can be a struggle dealing with a chronic illness. BUT, I don't struggle alone. Jesus is right there with me giving me the strength I need for the day to day. NOT the strength to get things done mind you, but the strength to cope with whatever the day brings. He doesn't promise us physical strength, but spiritual strength. I'm so glad He is there to comfort us and keep us in the palm of His hand. :)