Heirloom Expo

In September, the older girls and I (and baby) went to the National Heirloom Expo in Santa Rosa – about an hour north of San Francisco.  I had it penciled onto my calendar for awhile, but because it was in the middle of the week and so far away...I had to think about it.  I made the final decision that morning.
 
We were so glad we went!  We had a nice time of (uninterrupted!) girl conversation on the way.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, as was the scenery.
 
The Expo is centered around the pure food movement, heirloom vegetables, and anti-GMO activism.  While my garden is pitiful, I love gardening and have a great desire to be able to provide food for my family this way.

Chickens and lambs hanging out together.

Girls with Shoshanna Pearl Easling

One of the highlights for us was hearing and meeting Shoshanna Easling from the Bulk Herb Store.

They have a very informative and helpful website. (I highly recommend their Mama's Milk Tea!  I have been drinking it religiously since the day I gave birth to Keoni. At 7.5 months he is still exclusively breastfed and that big boy is doing great!)

Shoshanna demonstrated how easy it is to incorporate herbs into your everyday life and everyday eating.  From salad dressings to medicinal salves to baby food...it was really fabulous.  If only we were guaranteed the herbs would give us the energy level that Shoshanna has!  

She was very personable, and so kind to the girls.  When Kainoa asked her what top things she would recommend to have on hand, some things she mentioned were peppermint (tummy aches), bentonite clay, plantain (bug bites/stings).  The girls and I were very inspired to start a serious herb garden.  Check out their website at the Bulk Herb Store.

There were some fabulously creative uses of recycled materials

There go our girls...

(Sigh)  They grow up so fast....

Our church had a Father & Daughter event recently.  What a wonderful opportunity for Dad to take his girls out and make them feel special.  The evening included dinner, a photo slide show, and some great dancing - including Civil War type dances!  


Keith isn’t exactly the dancing type, but the girls love it!  How I would’ve loved to have been a fly on that wall!  But alas, I was home with the boys.  We had our own fun which included ice cream and Star Wars.

Keith and I greatly desire to raise godly young women – who love the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength... young ladies who desire to honor God in all they do and say, in how they carry themselves, in how they present themselves, in the people they spend time with, in how they spend their time, and in the choices they make.  


This is no small task!  And of course, we cannot do it in our own strength or wisdom.  It is only by God’s grace.  His grace towards them, and us.

The world has a wealth of lies to offer our daughters.  We must pray for them.  


Fathers – protect them!  Disciple them!  


Whatever you do – do not lower the bar.  Don’t give up, or give in.  Don’t relent because, well, everyone else is doing it.....

Voddie Baucham has an excellent message on Biblical Womanhood – with specifics in regards to our daughters.  Please consider investing in your daughter’s future, and taking the time to listen to this message.

Voddie Baucham is a clear, biblical teacher.  I promise, you will be challenged at least in one area.

It is 8 short parts on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6uNj7lauhA


There are several excellent resource books as well:

Joyfully at Home by Jasmine Baucham
So Much More by Anna Sofia Botkin & Elisabeth Botkin
Raising Maidens of Virtue by Stacy McDonald

(*All are available through Vision Forum – you can click on the Vision Forum catalogue above)

Kauikaleoaloha (16)

Kauikainoalani (10)

Kauikilimailani (4)

Great Expectations

Keith and I are thrilled to be expecting baby #7.  This was a wonderful surprise! I am due the day before my birthday in March.  Thankfully, I have finally rounded the corner of first trimester nausea and exhaustion.  Although I am ‘over the hill’ and considered high risk, Keith and I are so grateful that the Lord would bless us this way.  We are so excited to meet this newest little one!

Kaleo (16) and Kainoa (10)

It has been a wonderful blessing to see both of our oldest girls step up into roles of greater responsibilities, because I was falling asleep at the drop of a hat!  We are grateful that they love to cook and bake.  All the time of having them in the kitchen with me has paid off!


They can handle all the meals.  Some favorite breakfasts they make are pancakes, toad in a hole, and apple turnovers.  Some favorite dinners are taco casserole, lots of different pasta dishes,  and  homemade soups.


We have been thoroughly enjoying the girls latest endeavor.  Last fall we made apple pie filling and canned it up. Recently, inspired by a pie contest at church, the girls decided to attempt to make an apple pie from scratch using our homemade filling.  

The girls got up at the crack of dawn ( I suppose so as not to have any little ones distracting) and got busy. I have never made a pie crust from scratch, so they had no frame of reference.  Well, the rest of the family finally awoke to the most wonderful smell of freshly baked apple pie!  It was delicious!  And they made two more that week!
 

Mmmmmm!

Young Maidens in Training

One of the blessings of having daughters, and educating them at home, is that we daily work side by side in keeping our home.  This allows for lots of casual conversation about whatever is on their heart.

We spend a lot of our time in the kitchen.  Our two oldest (15 and 10)  have both known their way around the kitchen for a long time.  The girls are always asking if they can make a meal.  On this night, they made vegetable noodle soup, cornbread, and dessert – all homemade from scratch.

I have heard of tips and books that show you how to hide veggies in your family's food.  That’s a funny concept to me!  There is no hiding anything from these kiddos!  

They are with me when I shop at the farmer’s market (sampling, choosing, or carrying items) or when I pick up food from our co-op (helping to unload the delivery truck, checking our order, helping others to carry their items to their cars.)

They are helping to wash and prep veggies.  And they are helping to cook and bake – if they are not already doing it themselves.  You can’t slip anything by these curious kids!

 

It is a blessing that they are learning to be frugal and shop wisely.  They are learning the benefits of eating non-processed nutrient dense food – real food, the way God intended us to eat it.  They are learning to appreciate where our food comes from and how it is made or grown.

Our next endeavor is growing some food in our own garden...

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, 
do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31

Ice cream cookie sandwiches (ice cream not homemade today)