Tuesday, August 30, 2011

To Hell and Back installment 1

Good evening those of you that read this.  I hope that you had a wonderful day. I had a perfect day.  It is well with my soul.

In a previous blog, I said that Will and I both independently had intended to write books about our lives and I feel like this blog is a place where I can make some installments towards that goal because I promised 7 years ago that I would chronicle the power of God and His ability to take wretchedness and damage and pain and turn it into an amazing glorious victory. 

I am going to go backwards.  I am going to start with the happy ending that is in progress right now so that the faint of heart can read on and gleen from my experiences that no matter how damaged you are, if you will bravely face your past, with God's help you can heal and can have relationships and love and a life free of pain.  What has been done to you doesn't define who you are.  Everyone is damaged to some degree because we live in a fallen world with sin.  We get damaged by our own sin and bad choices and by the sins and bad choices other's have committed against us.  Fear not.  The spirit of fear does not come from the Lord.

You might be wondering why I am choosing to start this tonight.  Today was the first day of Directing a children's bible study that I have been called to lead.  It is a culmination of lots of years of training that I have received to lead children and teach children.  All because God has woven my path to be exactly here today with exactly this training and ability and desire and obedience.  It was a victorious day because God was in our midst and He gave all of us the Words and gave all the children the open hearts and my heart overflows with thankfulness that I could be entrusted by God to undertake this. 

I was talking to Kaye Gosdin, my teaching leader, about today and reporting to her how the day went.  It was chaotic and crazy and filled with anxiety compounded by the fact that I haven't slept well in days building up to this.  I told her that working all summer on this, writing the children's lessons, designing the program, walking step by step as God led to the next thing seemed like there wasn't any work or sacrifice at all. Watching those babies faces light up as they were learning to praise God and were learning how God has created the heavens and the earth was worth everything I have ever learned in my entire lifetime.  If I had remained the damaged nothing that I was 11 years ago, I would not have been in that spot teaching the children and would have missed that glorious moment. 

Thank you God for showing me the light and widening my path to heal my damaged soul.  I told Kaye that this is the first time in my life that I have been truly happy.  I am 49 years young and I cherish it more because I really have always wanted to be happy.  It took God's grace and mercy and Holy Word along with lots of work and courage to face the demons and overcome.

So, the happy ending you say, what's the happy ending?????

I have a relationship with God, I have deep faith in God, I have Will (Royce) Willard, I have my chickens, I have my horse, I have my home, I have my puppy at my feet, I have food in the refrigerator, I have a relationship with my sister, I have healthy nieces and nephews who are amazing adults that I am proud to love, I have my Jennifer (my sister....sister-in-law), I have the love of my brother, I have a ministry, I have students that I have previously taught that I love, I have amazing beautiful loving ladies that I study God's Holy Word with and who are my friends. I have faith, I have hope, I have trust, I have love.  Abundant, abiding, amazing, awesome love.  I make much less money than I have ever made but I am rich, not materially, emotionally.

As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13 NIV

 1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

The first time that my Christian Counselor Robert Newton had me read this about love, I wept for 2 weeks because I realized I had not ever been loved the way God defines love. I thought at that time that I would not ever experience love God's way. Robert (who you will read lots about) encouraged me to ask God to heal my damage so that I would one day be lovable. I will say the people in my life loved me as much as they knew how to love, but they had never received this kind of love either. It's Godly love but I lived with godless people. 

I HAVE LOVE from everyone in my life.  The happy ending!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Recipes from Our Budding Life, Okie-fornia style - Lemons

 Lemons
Lovely
Light
Lemons

Lemons are one of my favorite ingredients to cook with. Lemons and Limes are uber-healthy. One of my first conversations with Will was about my terrible health. He taught me about our body's alkalinity and how cancer, fungus and bacteria can't survive in an alkaline environment.  He taught me to test my body pH in my urine and saliva everyday and eat alkaline forming foods but most importantly start everyday with a lime drink that consists of 3 Tbls lime juice and 1/2 tsp baking soda.  Let the reaction and fizzing stop and then fill the glass full and drink it down.  Drink it before you eat or drink anything and wait 45 minutes before you consume anything.  I have a very acidic system and had lots of indigestion until I started this.  It refreshes my system and starts my day boosting the alkalinity in my system.  Try it and see how you feel.

Ok, I promised my dear friend Mary that I would post some of my favorite recipe's for her to make for her husband Bob who is a bit of a picky-eater.  She likes to try anything.  I also promised from your input to mix up complicated recipe's with easy one's.  That's what you get today, one easy recipe and one more difficult recipe but believe me you can't tell by taste which one is which.  Neither of these recipe's are low calorie or low fat but oh my they are delicious. 

Today my dearest Jeanie told me that she didn't think she could cook my way. I thought about that and I concluded that cooking is a form of relaxation to me and I learned some stuff in my gourmet classes that I can pass on to you that will make the prep time of cooking more pleasurable.  I always cook from my heart and love cooking for others.  When I am chopping, smashing, mixing I think about who I am cooking for and think about how something yummy and tasty will bring them pleasure.  I love trying a new recipe on Will because he's so good about giving me feedback and it's just the best when I make something that he loves and wants to eat again.  It's a culinary adventure of love! I also savor the quiet time alone.  Sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I talk to my puppy but having time alone is priceless to me.  Everything we can do can be a worshipful experience.  I often sing praise songs to God that are stuck in my head very off key while I cook.  This week has been Father Abraham, a children's song from our hymnal. 

Invest in one good skillet, one good chefs knife, one cheap knife sharpener and one good cutting board.  A micro-plane for grating cheese and zesting lemons is nice but you can make it without it.  Here are some pictures of my go-to cooking tools that you can get at Kohl's, Target or Walmart.



These are my knives, I use them
all day everyday


my favorite cutting board

Accusharp knife sharpener, $2.00
at my local lumberyard



This I bought at Target but you
can find them also in hardware stores




Lemon Herb Roast Chicken


level of difficulty - easy
Prep time - 15 minutes
Cooking time - 1 hour 20 minutes



This recipe also works wonderfully on Turkey at Thanksgiving time, you only will need to increase the sage and the quantities and cooking time.

It is succulent and highly flavored everytime.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken rinsed and patted dry

Paste
1 stick butter softened
5 sprigs fresh thyme (dried thyme leaves is ok but you will use less because it's stronger) pulled off stem and minced

3 sprigs fresh rosemary (dried rosemary leaves), pulled off stem and minced
5 fresh sage leaves (dried ground sage ok) pulled off stem and minced
1 bunch green onions chopped
1 bunch italian parsley leaves, also called flat-leafed parsley (dried parsley leaves ok)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pepper

2 whole lemons punctured with fork all around the sides

In a bowl, make a paste with the butter, thyme, rosemary, sage, green onions, parsley, salt and pepper

Gosh this is hard because I am writing this from how I do it in memory.  I will have to cook this with this recipe and make adjustments if necessary but I think this is right.  I know it's gross but I take a little taste of this herbed butter paste to make sure that it tastes like you want. I like mine to remind me of the best smelling thanksgiving turkey.  Be patient with me, remember I don't cook from recipe's but make these up when I cook. 

Now the messy part, you have to use your hands, sorry, Dawn dishwashing liquid will get the butter off your hands so press on.

Put your chicken with the breast side up on a cutting board that you use for meats or poultry.  Gently slide your hand between the skin and the meat and work your hand back to it's behind and then down the sides and over the thighs and legs.  Love your chicken! Once the skin is loose, take little handfuls of the butter paste and work it starting at the back between the skin and meat, keep putting in handfuls of the paste and pat the outside of the skin to make the paste evenly distributed all under the skin. Set your chicken into the roasting pan that you will cook it in, make it a solid pot with a tight fitting lid. Preheat your oven to 400.  Salt and Pepper the inside cavity of the chicken with extra salt and pepper and then slide the two punctured lemons inside the cavity of the bird.  

Place the chicken pot with lid on in the preheated oven and bake 30 minutes at 400.  Lower the oven temp to 375 and take the lid off and cook another 30 to 40 minutes until a fork pierced runs clear and the meat looks like it will fall off the bone.  Let rest for 5 minutes after removing from oven and then serve. I serve it with angel hair pasta, recipe below. It's also good served with mashed potatoes.


Italian Flat Leafed Parsley

Rosemary, pull leaves off tough
woody stem

Fresh sage leaves. Use leaf only not
stem

Fresh Thyme, pull tiny leaves off
stem









Lemon Herbed Angel Hair Pasta





level of difficulty - easy
prep time - 5 minutes
cook time - 10 minutes

Ingredients

1lb Angel Hair Pasta - I use whole wheat but you can use regular, cook according to instructions
2 TBLS butter
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 TBLS finely chopped italian flat leafed parsley
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Place the angel hair pasta in the boiling water, cook and drain.  While cooking the pasta, use grater or microplane to zest 1 lemon, make sure to avoid the white pithy part of the lemon below the yellow, it's bitter.  I buy hunks of parmesan at Walmart, if you felt extravagant you can buy parmesano reggiano but whatever they have in your grocery works as long as it's parmesan.  If you want to buy it already grated you can but don't use that dried stuff in the jars that we put on spaghettie our whole lives. 

After you drain the pasta put the lemon juice, butter, and parsley in and toss around to coat and melt the butter then add the cheese and you can toss or let it melt into the pasta and then serve.  It's so yummy my mouth is watering typing this. 


whole wheat angel hair pasta

this makes the job of zesting the lemon
or grating the parmesan a snap

a small handful is enough
pull off stems and chop

bright lovely lemons

parmesan cheese, easily my
favorite cheese ever



Friday, August 26, 2011

Recipes from Our Budding Life, Okie-fornia style

Hi, I never hardly ever cook from a cookbook and frequently cook by creating my own recipes from what I have at home.  I never write them down and then cannot re-create them when they are spectacular.  I wanted to share my healthy spaghetti that I conjured up this week along with a recipe that is my go-to for group dinners and guests. It is perfect to try right now for those of you that have been able to grow tomatoes this year.  Our drought and heat have prevented us from picking ONE tomato but we are keeping the vines alive for when the weather breaks and we should then be able to harvest tomatoes.

I want to tell you a little history about me and my cooking style so that you will realize if you read my blog about recipe's you will see that I cook southern (Okie) sometimes, I cook gourmet sometimes, and I cook Italian sometimes, and sometimes I cook stuff that belongs in no category!

I was raised by a family that had ALL emigrated from Oklahoma to California during the dustbowl.  They brought their foods and cooking styles to California with them and so their kind of food was all that I knew growing up.  Favorite childhood meal, Pinto Beans, Fried Potatoes, Green Onions, Sliced Tomatoes and Cornbread.  My Dad's favorite dessert was cornbread crumbled in milk and eaten with a spoon.  I came from a group of unbelievable cooks on my Momma's side (my real Mom who passed away when I was 7).  My Mama (grandmother) could make yeast rolls, cinnamon rolls and chocolate rolls that melted in your mouth.  My Aunt Kay makes the hands-down best potato salad I have ever had in my life. My Momma and my Papa both made excellent pinto beans and fried potatoes.  My Mama ate rather odd stuff but that's for another blog.  Mama could fry a steak in a cast-iron skillet that was tender and juicy and tasted like heaven. My sister does spectacular things with a chicken and everything that she cooks sings.  My brother can grill the most unbelievable succulent juicy tri-tip, halibut...you name it, he is a whiz at outdoor cooking.

BUT, when I married, my husband that I married (it didn't stick) told me that he hated "Okie" food and that he was going to eat at his Italian partner's house until I learned to cook like Irma, his Italian partner's wife.  For five years I studied at the kitchen stove of one of the best cook's I have ever encountered.  Irma never cooked by recipe, always cooked whatever she had and by how it looked and every single thing you ever put in your mouth in her kitchen was remarkable.  Donald (The Donald, ex-husband) said that Irma's secret was her seasonings and he was right.  He thought she used dried seasonings but she grew all of her own herbs.  Her husband didn't let her drive until a few years before I met her and so there we were out in the middle of farmland needing to grow our own herbs. She taught me everything about growing and cooking with herbs and how to make a wonderful meal in 30 minutes or less.  You see when farmers who work 15-20 hours a day and have no schedule, they expect their food on the table when they walk in, at least our husbands did.  I will always be thankful to Irma Buoni for sharing everything with me and listening to me for that 5 years. Long story but the Donald would call me 20 minutes before he started home and would give me his desired menu for dinner and it had to be on the table when he walked in the door or else he refused to eat. 

I had Okie and Italian under my belt and so after Donald and I separated, a friend invited me to gourmet cooking classes and I fell head over heels in love.  The chef teaching was from Israel and had a fabulous Mediterranean Restaurant and I took a year or two of classes from him.  My dear friend Lisa and I, then decided that we would have a cooking day once a month and we would look through Bon Appetite, Gourmet Magazine, Cooking Light and any other foodie mag and would find tough recipe's that we were afraid to tackle alone and did them together.  Usually sucessfully but sometimes not worth repeating.  Over time, I will share those recipe's that were so noteworthy that I dream about them.

Now I am with Will and he is an amazing cook.  He has been a single father for 12 years and loves to eat so he has taught himself to make really yummy food that is filling and fast.  He also runs a MEAN smoker and so my friend Judy and I want him to start a BBQ biz selling at our store called "Smokin Hot Daddy's BBQ".....he says he will smoke briskets, pork and ribs and even wants to try making a pastrami (be still my heart) but will not wear a wife-beater shirt that says that.  Meat, beans, crockpot, rice, etc., are his baileywick and he does it perfectly. I have already learned so many recipe's from him but haven't written them down but will start sharing them with you from now on.  MMMMM.....MMMMM...MMMMM I am thinking of his brisket and ribs smoked with persimmon and hickory.  He buys all of the groceries that I cook and does all of the shopping so I make what I have because I HATE to go to town.  I am perfectly content to stay home and get a surprise everytime he buys me groceries.  I always feel like a rich woman when he buys groceries for me and brings them to me.

Ok, now to one of my favorite recipe's of all time. 

Garlic Scented Tomatoes

1 head of garlic - 10-12 cloves of garlic smashed (smash them on your cutting board with your knife)
2 Tablespoons Kosher salt (it doesn't work with normal table salt, invest in the Kosher and you will never go back)
1/4 to 1/2 Cups Red Wine Vinegar (it has to be red wine vinegar)

Optional choose one or all of the following or leave them out, your choice
Red onion sliced in rings
Bell Pepper juliened
Basil strips (stack your basil leaves in a stack, roll them like a cigar and slice them in ribbons across the leaves from top to bottom)
Mozarella cheese

To Steep the Garlic:
Crush all of the garlic and put into the bottom of a coffee mug or fancy glass dish but a coffee mug works fine. You don't even need to peel or chop the garlic because you won't be eating the garlic. I frequently smash and put skins and all in the cup.

Put the two tablespoons of salt on top of the garlic.

Pour enough red wine vinegar over the salt and garlic to completely cover the garlic.  It can take 1/4 to 1/2 cup. 

Give a little stir and set the cup out of the way on your window sill or on your counter out of the way.  Let it steep at room temp at least 2 hours but overnight is the best.

Prepare your platter

Slice tomatoes and arrange them on a pretty serving platter
leave them plain or add any combination of the optional items that you wish.

IMMEDIATELY before serving, and I mean IMMEDIATELY pour the vinegar that is scented with the garlic and salt over the veggies on the platter.  You will die when you taste these tomatoes.  In the dead of winter you can buy store bought tomatoes and put this on them and it makes them taste like vine-ripened summer tomatoes.  There's no fat added so it's healthy.  You can re-use the garlic two or three times by adding new salt and vinegar but replace it when it loses it's pungency.

Ok, now for a recipe I made up this week:

Healthy Cheap Simple Fast Spaghetti


1 roll Italian flavored turkey sausage
2 large onions diced
2 cloves garlic minced
2 bell peppers diced
2 stalks celery sliced
1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil to saute veggies in
1 package button mushrooms sliced (Portabellas would be nice too)
1 Can Hunts Garlic and Herb Spaghetti Sauce (Will says that its the only store-bought sauce that doesn't have unhealthy added ingredients and it's only $1.00 per can)
1 - 2 pounds whole wheat spaghetti noodles ]
Kosher Salt
Pepper

In a large pot, place enough water to cover all of your spaghetti and give it room to swim around.  Add two palmfuls of kosher salt.  It's the only opportunity you have to flavor your noodles. Bring to a boil and add your desired amount of spaghetti and stir around so that the noodles don't stick.

While the water is heating up and the noodles are cooking, in a LARGE skillet put olive oil in and add onions to saute on medium heat.  Using your spoon spread the onions in an even layer on the bottom of the skillet/pan and allow them to cook until you see them starting to brown, about 15 minutes, it takes patience but it's worth it.  Add the bell pepper, garlic, celery and mushrooms, stir often and cook until they soften.  Cut open the roll of sausage and break up the turkey sausage over the veggies with your hands like you would ground beef.  Using your spoon incorporate the veggies into the sausage and cook stirring around until the sausage is nicely browned.  Add the can of spaghetti sauce and bring to a simmering boil.  Drain noodles and place in serving bowl, pour sauce over noodles and toss, if you like you can shave or shred some fresh parmesan cheese over the top and serve!
Guilt free spaghetti eating for sure.   




The Friday Before.......

Hi Out There.....I am not sure if anyone is really interested in anything I have to say but I like doing this so I will continue.  I hope whoever you are that you are having a lovely day. 

It's still really hot here and I have cabin fever. I had what I thought was food poisoning but it must have been an intestinal bug because it lasted from Monday until yesterday.  All is ship-shape now but I have been cooped up and I prefer being outside.  Weather man said we were going to get some cooler weather Monday but has now revised and we will still be over 100.

I have not posted about the current undertaking by me (Tracy).  After Mom died, I realized a big hole in my life needed to be filled up with God and a deep loving bible study.  Here where I live in Southern Oklahoma (Texoma), there aren't any deep loving ladies bible studies nearby. There is a BSF class in Sherman (far away) but I knew with the inclimate weather that my attendance would falter if I had treacherous drives in the winter. 

Our little baby newspaper called "The Capital Democrat" comes out once a week and that day of the week is a red letter day.  We all rush to the Eagles Nest to get our copy.......not a pulitzer prize winning paper but treats us with our own little special news and noteworthy bits. It is actually neat to read the paper and KNOW a person that is mentioned on every page.  I had been praying about whether or not to host a bible study in my home for youth or ladies and one week I opened the paper and there was an article in the paper about a ladies bible study in Ardmore (an hour away). It said that the Teaching Leader had been trained at BSF and Community Bible Study, has been patterned after those two wonderful studies and that the bible study would be studying Romans in the fall and gave a telephone number.  I saved the paper for a week or two and then called the number.  My now-friend Marsha McGuire answered and I asked if there was still time to sign up or was there a waiting list? (I was accustomed to waiting lists at BSF). I told her about myself and how badly I needed their bible study and she inquired about where I had learned about them.  I told her where and to this day, no one knows how that article about their bible study appeared in my paper. 

Anyhow, I started, went to the first week and was called that afternoon by Kaye Gosdin also my now-friend, and teaching leader and she asked me to be a ladies leader.  I did and loved it but in leaders meeting we were praying for a childrens ministry or program each week.  I felt each week a tug at my heart for the absent children's program but I ignored those tugs. 

One morning,  I was sitting at the edge of my bed and I heard loudly in my head "TEACH THE CHILDREN".  After prayer that morning I told Marsha and Kaye about what I had heard and they looked at me like I was an alien. :)  Long story short, I wasn't an alien, they couldn't believe their ears.  I am clearly hanging on to God's hand tightly asking Him to show me the very next thing because I am over my head creating, writing lessons for Genesis, choosing and training leaders and administrating a children's program that is starting next Tuesday with 33 pre-registered children from birth to 7. 

My greatest sorrow in my life is that I never had a baby.  Will has Daulton but Daulton is 17 and doesn't need a mother as he has one.  I have begged God for 23 years for a baby and the answer has always been a resounding NO. I really have struggled with this especially when I witness women who are terrible mothers spitting kids out that they don't want.  God still said NO.  At the beginning of TMBS Bible Study, Kaye asked us to read Galatians along with our study of Romans.  While reading in my NIV, the following verse jumped out at me:

Galatians 4:27

27 For it is written:
   “Be glad, barren woman,
   you who never bore a child;
shout for joy and cry aloud,
   you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
   than of her who has a husband.”[e]

I finally have my answer, I am not to ever be in labor but I am to have more children being desolate than those women with husbands and the way that God is going to do that is call me to begin a children's ministry.  The night before I was to present the concept to the ladies at bible study, I decided to see what "The Message" bible in Galatians and read:

22-23But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. (Galatians 4:22-23)

Galatians 4:27 was a quote from Isaiah 54 and so I decided to go see what "The Message" said about Isaiah 54 and I found:

Isaiah 54

Spread Out! Think Big!
 1-6 "Sing, barren woman, who has never had a baby.
   Fill the air with song, you who've never experienced childbirth!
You're ending up with far more children
   than all those childbearing women." God says so!
"Clear lots of ground for your tents!
   Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big!
Use plenty of rope,
   drive the tent pegs deep.
You're going to need lots of elbow room
   for your growing family.
You're going to take over whole nations;
   you're going to resettle abandoned cities.
Don't be afraid—you're not going to be embarrassed.
   Don't hold back—you're not going to come up short.
You'll forget all about the humiliations of your youth,
   and the indignities of being a widow will fade from memory.
For your Maker is your bridegroom,
   his name, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
Your Redeemer is The Holy of Israel,
   known as God of the whole earth.
You were like an abandoned wife, devastated with grief,
   and God welcomed you back,
Like a woman married young
   and then left," says your God.


I am now welcomed back by God, like a woman married young who will forget the humiliations of my youth and I will walk forward in faith and dependence on God to build a children's bible study that will stand long after I am gone. 

I was really discouraged and anxious about starting this program this coming Tuesday because I am being told "the kids can't do this", "they won't hold the hymnals", "the verses are too hard to learn", "the women won't do that" but writing this, I am no longer discouraged because God says "don't be afraid--you are not going to be embarrassed" and "don't hold back--you're not going to come up short".  If you are reading this, know that tears of thankfulness and joy are in my eyes and you could say a little prayer that TMBS for Children will be for God and will always give glory to God's call. 

Have a really good night my reader.  Thank you for reading my long-winded blogs. 

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Progress on the Home

Finally I am writing the blog that is Wills most requested, The HOME!

Will has been dreaming and planning on building his home for 10 years.  He worked and saved and acquired building materials during these 10 years and finally he's on his way to seeing his dream come to fruition.  He hasn't had a day off in about 4 or 5 weeks and there isn't one in sight so there won't be much progress beyond this for awhile.  I can't weld so I'm only the helper who fetches and carries.  I have learned to use the grinder and chop saw though.  I can make a chalk line, and know all the parts, I can't construct though. 

This is the first house for either of us to build.  It is a fascinating process.  I really like how it's a puzzle that will come together once you build the parts (puzzle pieces) and then assemble them.  Each step you take, you have to consider how it affects all the steps still to come because once each step is complete you really don't want the "uh oh moments" that occur when you mismeasure or don't put a crucial element in.  Thankfully, we have not had any "uh oh moments" because Will is very thoughtful and contemplative and careful. 

Ok here we go.  It's going to be a steel home.  We don't have them in California but I think it's the only way to go now that I have learned about it.  It is all steel construction so you have zero problems with termites, the strength exceeds wood construction for withstanding tornadoes and you can dress them up so that they don't look like a steel shop or barn.  There are also amazing insulation methods that enable you to insulate to a factor of 15 where standard insulation is usually about 5 or 6.  The best part is the cost.  It's so much less expensive.  Our cost of construction will be around $19.00 per square foot. We are doing the labor ourselves except for the cost of the foundation which was sub-contracted.  Conventional construction is usually between $65.00-$125.00 per square foot.  So, for less cost you get a tornado and termite proof home that is very energy efficient and costs a fraction of what a wood home would cost.  It's really exciting. 


 Here is where we started. The hill on which it is being built always has wonderful breezes.  The best view and the best potential for cross breezes was facing northwest.  Here is a panorama of where the house is:


The left backyard.  The fenced yard will expand out
into those trees so that we have forest in yard


Frontyard Right

Foundation first! The foundation complete with rough plumbing and electrical was subcontracted because Will had not done that before and we needed help to get past this critical stage.  Royce, Wills Dad dug the footing with their backhoe and voila with lots of money spent and lots of running to and fro for parts and supplies we went through these stages of completion in ONE WEEK!








Then we had a foundation. What next????? The steel, the steel, the steel. Will built an amazing cutting table in 10 minutes for us out of firewood.  He has qualities of a pioneer and this table it awesome I think. 


This summer has been so brutally hot that we had to resort to working nights on the house. 





And now this is where we have stalled for now.  The steel is facsinating the way that the posts are welded to plates that are imbedded in the footing that is 24 inches of concrete down deep into the ground.  The C-Perlin which is the equivalent of 2X4 wood framing is welded together and anchored into the concrete.  Severe weather and tornadoes terrify me so I am very pleased with all of the time it has taken to weld, imbed, brace steel to concrete.  It helps me feel like once we are ever married if I am in this house and a tornado warning comes, I will have a better chance of not being Dorothy. 

The weather will break eventually and Will will get a day off eventually and progress will be made again eventually but this is what we have so far. 
Oops sorry this is just how it feels!

 
























Thursday, August 11, 2011

Rain "N" Critters

Today we were favored by the GIGANTIC blessing of cooler temperatures and RAIN! A little rain, not drought ending (we need 12 inches) but definitely a stress reliever for August 11, 2011.

I was going to write about and show pictures of the house building project but I was watching my critters react to the rain and I thought they deserved to be introduced because they are family too.

First we have dear Boston......dear, dear Boston....interchangeable with "oh dear......Boston!!"    He is a Boston Terrier who is 2.  He is getting better with age but the little dear doesn't like to be left alone.  G-O is his favorite word and S-T-A-Y is his most hated word.  That one word stay can send him into a home-wrecking, bra, sock, shoe, and firewood eating frenzy.  Alternatively he is the most loving, snuggle-bug and has so much personality that you can't stay irritated with him.  Here's are some pictures of the darling.




His Dad says he is a Johnny Ranger, Blackbelt, Ninja Warrior because of his superb crime detecting and fighting skills.  Mom says he's cute and cuddly and isn't completely convinced he works for the CIA.  You see he loves riding the 4-wheeler but that doesn't make him a Ninja Warrior.  Just Saying.

Ok, next we have Nellie.  Nellie is actually Daulton's dog. Daulton is gone to Texas for the summer and Will's Mom was leaving for Alabama and taking her chihuahua's with her and asked me to keep an eye on Nellie.  We were having all of that severe weather at the time so I decided to bring Nellie over to my house.  We are forever bonded.  She is my shadow, my angel, my tiny protector.  She goes everywhere I go. She kills rats, fights snakes, protects me from the chickens and can be counted on to snuggle tight every night.  Here's my homely (never let her know that she isn't beautiful) Nellie:



We have three generations of chickens living here.  One-eyed Jack is the oldest chicken.  He and his brother were hatched from a long-dead hen many years ago.  He and his brother were not allowed by any hens because there were older roosters on my farm.  Baldy was my special older rooster and I didn't do anything to right the wrong that was being done to One-eyed Jack and his brother.  I guess one day, the brother rooster had enough and pummeled Baldy and pecked out One-eyed Jack's eyeball.  The brother rooster took over the hens and Baldy and One-eyed Jack were in exhile hiding behind corners and under trucks and trailers hoping to avoid being seen by the brother rooster.  You might be questioning why brother rooster has no name? Baldy was tragically eaten by the neighbor's dog and Baldy and Nubbie (later) had a son who stood up to brother rooster one day and beat him terribly but brother rooster wouldn't give up and was terrorizing all of the chickens so he had to be shot, had to be....can't have terror on our farm.  Remember we are seeking peace and tranquility and one can't rest if one is breaking up rooster fights all of the time.  Nubbie is my oldest hen.  She is the only survivor of a batch of babies I bought to put under a hen and since at the time I was terrified of chickens I failed to get them under the hen (after being badly attacked) and so I raised them in Mom's house (she was in CA) but alas Nubbies sisters had their heads eaten off by a skunk or possom and so only Nubbie survived.  Here's Nubbie and One-Eyed Jack.



On Will's birthday last year, Nubbie hatched 4 hens and two roosters. There is only 1 rooster of that batch (the other was shot) and four hens. These hens are Saltie, Pepper, Caramel and Little Brown Hen. 

Will bought me 20 hens in March and they are my "Babies"  I raised them in a cage in the garage and they are sure I am their Mommy.  They are hilarious.  They follow me everywhere I go and come when I call them.  They like to be petted and carried.  Here are Nubbies and the Babies:






Sunday, August 7, 2011

Romans 8:28

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

    We are certainly living proof of this scripture.  We both lived godless, horrid childhoods. I (Tracy) at least, had my real Momma who was saved before she died and she told my sister and brother and I about God and she truly lived a godly life until she died.  I was 7. After she died though it wasn't good.  I don't want to disparage anyone but I will say that I experienced abuse, both mentally and physically, and had to be grown up at 7.  I had to learn to survive in an environment with only conditional love and with abuse. I call it chaos.  Will also grew up in a godless, horrid childhood.  He experienced worse than I did and also had to grow up very early, he had to be able to survive on his own at age 5-7 and had a terrible experience at age 8.  Will calls his chaos. 
    People always ask how we met.  It's a funny story and fits this particular blog.  Will has one son named Daulton who he raised by himself from the time that Daulton was 6.  God had moved me to Oklahoma to help my step-mom and on a whim, I decided one day as I was driving past Milburn School that I could substitute teach and so I applied and started subbing.  Right away, I took over the long-term sub position as science teacher.  Daulton was in 8th grade and was one of my students.  That year, Daulton approached me at Old Settlers Day (a fun festival here) and said he wanted me to meet his Dad.  I thought to myself, "Oh great, another toothless, drug addicted loser" and we walked over to this DREAMY man and Daulton introduced this dreamy man as his Dad.  Will is shy to strangers and he was polite and quiet and pleasant. I thought "OMGOODNESS! Daulton has a SMOKING HOT DADDY" but nothing happened.  Daulton was my student for the next three years and was one of my favorite students because he was always respectful and hard working.  The year my Mom died, 2009 and then 2010 were awful years for me and for Will. We had both been hurt badly in relationships, my Mom (step-Mom) who was my best friend died and I was notified that I was being RIF'd (terminated) at school.  We had an awards dinner and Daulton came in with his Dad and sat by me.  Will had not ever been invited to come to something at school by Daulton and so it was odd that he was there period.  Will and I struck up an amazing, interesting conversation and really enjoyed each other.  We both had already independently made the decision that we were going to do life alone and so it was just a great conversation, nothing else.  A month after school was out, a dear friend Missy sent me a message on facebook and asked me if I knew Royce Willard (Will). She is a hospice nurse and I really thought she was talking about one of her patients.  I said I didn't and she said she had been talking to him on fb and that he is a really nice guy and has been praying for a godly woman and she thought of me.  When she said he lived in Emet and was raising his son alone and was building a house, our interesting conversation kicked in for me and I knew who he was.  She convinced me to send him a friend request, I did, he accepted, and we spent a week reading each other's posts. He liked mine, I liked his.  He eventually sent me a chat request and we chatted on fb for 8 hours the first time.  He shared his testimony. He had a horrid childhood, grew up and got mixed up with drugs and alcohol pretty seriously.  When he was at rock-bottom, he was walking where he is building his house, right there nestled against the trees. He said he heard a rustle behind him, he stopped, looked back and nothing was there. He started walking again and heard the rustle again and was immediately aware that this was something to do with God and knew he had better do something.  Even though he didn't know God,  he fell to his knees in a mud puddle and then to his face and prayed the prayer accepting Jesus as Lord and was forever changed.  That was 7 years ago and he was completely delivered from the temptation of drugs and alcohol and has not ever been tempted again.  A certain divine intervention.  When we met he was humble, knew the Lord, was being changed by God day by day, and had experienced "everything under the sun" and knew that he didn't want anything but a peaceful, calm, godly life.
    I didn't get saved until I was 30 and had experienced "everything under that same sun" and had learned by my time in Oklahoma that all the material wealth I had experienced, career success...everything didn't make me happy. By the time I met Will I knew that all I wanted was a peaceful, calm, godly life. 
     Better one handful with tranquillity
   than two handfuls with toil and envy
   and chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 4:6

    We are now both on a quest for simple things, calm, peace and the Lord.  We shared with each other when we met that we both felt that it was important for our testimony to be shared.  We were talking one day and I said I had always felt led to write a book and he said he also felt led to write a book and I said mine was going to be entitled "To Hell and Back" and he was astounded because that had always been the intended title of his book.  Our lives have been to hell and back but we have arrived at "back" because of God and now we start the journey forward.  Hell is behind us but God used it for good.