Nava Akiyah
November 14th, 2012
7 lbs. 19 3/4 in.
sojourning, new beginings and farewell
For those of you on YHVH's calendar...we wish you a blessed new year and trust you all had a happy Passover!
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| Pesach 2012 |
This new year has found our family with many new beginnings...
We will be moving.
Where will Yah have us go? Well, as of today we still do not know. As Brody seeks steady income this seems to be the determining factor. Which leads me to the next announcement,
I am taking an indefinite hiatus from the computer.
Yes, this has been on my heart for some time and although I am grateful for the many wonderful Yah loving souls I have met through this internet experience...there is a time for everything.
I do intend to send out my pay it forward handmade gifts to all those who participated. Don't you worry about that. And I also hope to keep in touch with many of you as well, in the traditional ways. But as for me and the computer, it is just one of those things that I am finally going to do away with.
(Kind of like that cell phone and television I let go of years ago... and I don't miss them one bit!)
(Kind of like that cell phone and television I let go of years ago... and I don't miss them one bit!)
I have saved the best announcement for last;it appears that we are expecting blessing number 7! The due date is November 9th but if you have followed any of my pregnancies and birth stories, I always go over. Brody and I viewed an amazing, very real, reenactment from conception to birth and whoever can deny a divine Creator is beyond my comprehension. How wonderfully and beautifully we are knit in the womb! How undeserving I am to receive such precious gifts. It is always such a humble awakening to find I am expecting again.
~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o~~o
So I bid you all farewell.
I truly appreciate your comments, your own delightful blogs and friendship. May the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob bless you and your homes abundantly!
~Emily, from the tribe of Brody
Calling ALL Esthers!
“There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other people’s, and they do not keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain. If it pleases the king, let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.”
Haman means magnificent. In the book of Esther, he is the symbol of man devoid of YHVH (God). We read that his ways were to elevate himself, manipulate and destroy those who desired to walk in YHVH's ways nonconforming to his. For what fellowship can light have with darkness?
And Mordecai was the good shepherd; looking after his cousin Hadassah (Esther) and likewise saving the king.
Then out of Esther's obedience to Mordecai she would go on to save the Jewish people from Annihilation.
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27
Mama's, we too were called "for such a time as this". Raising up a couple Mordecais and Esthers is no small feat. And our trust and obedience is required just as much as Esther's was. May we be diligent and not deceived!
happiness from the trenches
Thanks for joining us today! I hope to give you encouragement and inspiration while enduring today's trials. The title, happiness from the trenches was inspired from learning to welcome the challenges of the unknown and surrendering to what YHVH (God) has in store for each one of us. If you are like me, home is where your heart is and it is what you make it!
In the garden:
In my last homestead post I took a walk with you and displayed our strawberry patch that had been overgrown with weeds. (We had our baby in July.) I was so thankful that they were doing just fine, however. And I got to work on clearing them out. But the best part about this first step in restoration was this; dried catnip. Brody had outlined the strawberries with catnip to help deter pests. And since we never got around to harvesting it, I had to cut off all the dried stems. Just as I was about to put them into my weed bucket, a voice said, "what are you doing?!". Immediately I realized, this is a gift. This catnip is good and already dried. I can use this... in tinctures, teas, etc. Wowser. It dawned on me I was about to throw away this herb just because I didn't do the manual work of cutting it and having to dry it myself.
This was way too enlightening, thank you Abba!
Think about this for a moment. How many of us do this on a regular basis? Just like YHVH (God) gave us the precious gift of HIS son freely we still reason that we are unworthy and reject some of Father's greatest gifts! I did not have to tie up these herbs to hang them to dry or place them in a dehydrator. Due to laziness the birth of Ishiayh, we forgot about harvesting crops and soaked in the newness of the precious gift of life. Yet today here I am, reaping dried herbs from our way overgrown garden-anyway. And praising YHVH for HIS ways, for they are good, true, just and always reliable!
In the Kitchen:
Moroccan carrots
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| serves 4 |
1 lb. carrots, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon real salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
I really enjoy this for lunch. I prefer to cook the carrots and drain them before adding the remainder of the ingredients. In this case, I saute the garlic in the oil before dumping in the carrots and spices.
But one can surely use this as a raw dish or you can serve it cooked and chilled.
The children really like these ...
Flax Crackers
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| the recipes yields 24 crackers |
(We double this.)
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 ½ cups your favorite flour
½ tsp alum. free baking powder
½ tsp salt
4 tsp butter, softened
½ cup milk
In a bowl of a stand-up mixer or a food processor, add flax seed, ground flax, flour, baking
powder, salt and butter. With the paddle attachment, mix on low
speed until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Stir in milk and mix until
mixture forms soft dough. (You can also mix the dough by hand or use the regular blade for your food processor.) Wrap dough in
plastic wrap and chill 10 minutes. Divide the dough into quarters. Turn out
onto a lightly floured board. Roll out as thin as you can into a rectangle . Cut into squares. Transfer to an un-greased baking
sheet. Repeat with the remainder of the dough. Preheat oven to 325° F. Bake 20
minutes until crisp and golden.
Variations:
Onion: 1 tbsp onion powder or chives
Cheese: 1 cup grated cheddar
Italian: 1 tbsp oregano and 1 cup grated mozzarella
Frugality in the Home:
One day I just decided, "THAT'S IT"...I am done purchasing paper towels. It became bothersome. (We never did purchase paper napkins, we just used the paper towels as napkins.) I am still not sure why this took me as long as it did considering all the other consumer items we have done away with, years ago. I must have wanted to spend that $12 dollars on something else. :o) Well I am sure I did, but truth be told the commitment came from not liking to have to be dependent on an outside source to supply me with products to wipe up messes and keep my mouth clean. I mean this is kind of sad, is it not?
We had plenty of dish towels for spills but only one set of cloth napkins at this time; they were white and becoming dingy for we used them for the Sabbath meal. I quickly realized I am going to have to come up with some more in our home, a family of 8, consisting of mostly littles. And fast because eating with littles tends to be a bit messy. Thankfully my obsessive nature was released and I found myself totally addicted to making cloth napkins. I just love projects that are easy and purposeful...
The first and second set were so, so simple. I had a green woven silk suit, which I loved but when I wore it, I just didn't feel like me. Know what I mean ladies? So it was hard to let go of it but I finally came to terms when I realized it matched my hand made dining curtains. I cut out as many squares of material that I could get and simply folded over the four edges, ironed them and sewed a zig-zag stitch along the fold with green thread.
I did this again with a red turtle neck that was too short for me. Likewise, this color matched my dining curtains. I really like red, it looks fabulous against our wood table.
Next, I wanted to use the actual fabric that I made the curtains out of. After cutting these out, I found that I was going to have either 1.) an unfinished side or 2.) cut out double the squares so I could sew them together in order for them to look nice enough to use either side. I guess I was thinking this because the above napkins were already for use on either side, which I liked. But I then thought it would be nice to have the other side in another color. Therefore I cut out another color of squares (or rectangles whichever you prefer) and matched them up, so they could be reversible. I selected an old, pale yellow tee-shirt and did just that.
I have a large bin where unwanted clothes go and are put to use. Some have been given to us, sometimes we give them away, other times they are re-purposed. And please don't go thinking that I am a hoard because I am one to throw something out as soon as I can... but fabric... well that just has too many uses.
I now had napkins that were reversible. Soon I found myself taking the scraps of the red turtle neck and cutting out flowers to sew on my reversible napkins. This not only added a pretty touch but it tied in the red so that if I had a crowd over for a meal, I could easily get away with using all my napkins because so far they all matched one another and the curtains!
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| reversible napkins with flower |
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| now famous curtains |
Next set, once again using the same curtain fabric...thankfully I had a lot of this. :D And matching it up with some red fabric that I happened to have, I made yet another set of reversible napkins. I did not use a top-stitch on these which gave it a more formal look. Like cloth wipes, all of the above napkins are super easy to sew. You can do as the first two, and simply top-stitch along the fold of the square or rectangle material. Or you can do as the third set and simply stitch two pieces of fabric together. I did not like this however because you will most likely have fraying. (I was feeling lazy that day.) So these are more like our every day napkins now. Or you can do like the 4th set and sew two pieces of material together using a straight stitch with the right sides facing together. Be sure NOT to completely sew them together, leave about 3 inches in order to turn them right side out. Then simply stitch the opening closed, I think this creates a more elegant look. For all of the above I found ironing the material before sewing to be a great help.
So the next time you use a paper towel or napkin perhaps you will think on this post. How much do we truly depend on outside sources to get through our daily lives? And how much money can you be saving doing without just half of your disposable/consumer products? We purchased the large 12 roll count paper towels, ranging from $8-$15 depending on brand, sales and stores-monthly. And while this may only add up to $96-$180 annually, I can think of many other things I could do with that money AND it be sustainable.
Contentment comes from choosing to be thankful and happy with what you have..no matter the circumstances.
Who wouldn't want to use a handmade napkin over some common paper product anyway?
I am so happy to be linking up to the Homestead Barn Hop today through Kendra's blog, New life on a homestead. She's back!
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| Also shared at |
Treasure Hunting!
We were blessed with winning Doorposts, Instructions for righteousness over at Muthering Heights.com back in May of 2011. To say this book is WONDERFUL is an understatement. I had my heart set on this one for a couple months before I won...oh how YHVH's timing is sooo SWEET!
As we go through the book, there are so many special touches combined with the Scripture references. Because this book was complied by a family who put the Scriptures into practice they were able to add their own pieces of treasure to it. This helps to bring to life the Scripture verses so that children can take hold of their meaning in a real and tangible kind of way. It also helps entice the creativity of the parent to do the same.
I can't say enough of about this incredibly valuable resource.
As we continue to incorporate this into our daily lives we have come to a section titled confidence in riches.
Throughout the week I decided it would be a nice
addition to review a project we did 2 years ago that was similar, in which
I called "being about our Father's business". We went through the Scriptures listing all the crowns
that are promised to us along with the many other rewards. During that time I had also cut the children out crowns for them to decorate, to help
make the lesson a bit more memorable.
As we go through the book, there are so many special touches combined with the Scripture references. Because this book was complied by a family who put the Scriptures into practice they were able to add their own pieces of treasure to it. This helps to bring to life the Scripture verses so that children can take hold of their meaning in a real and tangible kind of way. It also helps entice the creativity of the parent to do the same.
But don't just listen to YHVH's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
As we continue to incorporate this into our daily lives we have come to a section titled confidence in riches.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
We were about to find out where our hearts were. The additional notes to this verse suggested to write down the child's activities on slips of paper and put them in a treasure chest box. First we made our treasure box. Then we decided at the end of the day for a week, we would write down what we did with our free time...and mom was participating too. Finally at the end of the week, on Shabbat, we were going to take out the papers and divide them into 2 piles---heavenly treasures and earthy treasures. This is when we find out if we are being good stewards with the time we have here...or not so much. This activity is excellent. Not only are you able to audit your daily actions but then you can take it a step further to make those necessary changes towards storing up treasures in heaven!
Throughout the week I decided it would be a nice
addition to review a project we did 2 years ago that was similar, in which
I called "being about our Father's business". We went through the Scriptures listing all the crowns
that are promised to us along with the many other rewards. During that time I had also cut the children out crowns for them to decorate, to help
make the lesson a bit more memorable. 
This has been a homegrown kid production. I hope to have shared a great resource with you as well as inspiration to have fun with your children as you teach them diligently in the way they should go. Blessings from our home to yours!
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| Shared at |
making do with what we have
~ In the Garden ~
The snow came and went. Love this NC weather! Once a year snowfall then gone the following day works just fine for me. The children on the other hand did as much as they could with the resources they had.
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| A snowman? You decide. ;P In my previous post I declared that we had enough already growing in the fields to keep me busy. So I took a walk to see what was in store for me, yes in flip flops. After the snow we had 70 degrees all week. (Big Smile)  I was pleased to discover that the strawberry patch was still alive, now I just have to uncover it. As you can see Brody and I were able to get some unveiled...but take a look at that hay looking stuff in the back. No, we didn't put that there. ;-P I still have some work cut out for me in this area, its needs lots more mulching as well.  |
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~ In the Kitchen ~
While I have been sharing a lot of recipes lately with y'all, it is not my intent for you to strictly follow them. Rather, I hope to encourage you to use what you have. Because when one sets out to homestead, the purpose is generally to grow your own food. Purchasing should eventually go down, and hopefully significantly. For example, we raise chickens for both eggs and meat. So we eat a lot of chicken and eggs. Hence we have a lot of meals that consist, chicken and eggs. And when we are growing greens we eat a lot of greens... You get the point. So while I will continue to post recipes that I believe to be healthy I also ask that you make them your own. First using the ingredients in your pantry. And please let me know what your coming up with.
Green Goodness
half a lemon
the middle section of the celery stalks, leaves included (we use it all here :))
half a bunch of cilantro
1 avocado
1 cucumber
half a cup of crushed dried cherry tomatoes (this is how we store our abundance of cherry tomatoes, dehydrated)
Go ahead, dump all the ingredients into the food processor. This mixture is great topped on crackers, with a tortilla wrap, over scrambled eggs, or puree until smooth as a raw soup. It really is that yummy. If you want to kick it up a bit, add a jalapeno. (heat is still not my children's friend)
Date Shake
This recipe was found over at She's Cookin when in search of a recipe to use up my dates and coconut milk. (duh, i know) Her first commenter recommended adding an avocado. I thought this was a great addition!
Date Shake
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| recipe serves 2 |
This recipe was found over at She's Cookin when in search of a recipe to use up my dates and coconut milk. (duh, i know) Her first commenter recommended adding an avocado. I thought this was a great addition!
1 cup dates, chopped
1/2 avocado
1 cup coconut milk
1 frozen banana
Blend. I really enjoyed this shake but I love coconut. I was also pleased to find that it was oh so creamy and the pieces of dates add a terrific chewy treat.
←☺→☺←☺→☺←☺→☺←☺→☺←☺→
Our cloth diapers were on the fringe for some months now. I finally asked Brody if he had any clothes I could re-purpose. He handed me 4 tee shirts that were in bad shape as far as a shirt goes but looked fantastic for a cloth diaper.
lay out your t-shirt
cut off the top, in this case there was a pocket; make sure you cut below the bottom of the pocket
cut off the bottom hem for easier sewing
fold into thirds, making the middle section triple layered
try to get it as centered as you can
time to sew, straight stitch along the fold in the middle of your t-shirt fabric
now sew a straight stitch along the fold on the other side of your triple layer
last step, sew using whatever stitch you prefer down the raw edges
There you have it! You can make up a dozen of these in minutes at little to no cost.
Now, one needs a diaper cover...Brody also happened to surrender a sweat shirt and a pair of fleece pants. :o) Oh yeah!
All I did was lay out an older diaper cover and trace it for a pattern. I also grabbed a flannel shirt that a good friend gave me, for she no longer wanted it, to use as a soaker. Now you can get fancy with the above, sewing gussets and or elastic into them for a closer fit. Even putting Velcro or snaps on them, if you happen to have a snap press. But I find these also work just fine like this- using a snappi. So if they are for my use I usually leave them like this (to save time). But if they would be for another I would dress them up. There are so many free patterns for cloth diapers out there today that I am going to skip on the tutorial. Perhaps another day... Today, I hope to leave you with inspiration that YOU can sew AND create the items you need simply using the things you already have.
Hope you are having a BLessed week enjoying YOUR h♥mestead!
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