Happy Thanksgiving

Today is a very special day to be thankful for all the blessings that God has given to each of us. Our families, friends, homes to live in, food on the table and clothes to wear. Most of all the blessing of His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins that we might have everlasting life. We are so blessed!!! It's a good day to reflect on our blessings!!

We are headed to my mothers apartment for dinner. It will only be me and the girls along with my hubby's Aunt Barb and Uncle Don. Tom's father had an accident on Saturday and has been in the hospital through today. He is getting to come home sometime today. Tom and his cousin Jerrod went to get them last night. This will be the first Thanksgiving without my hubby in 11 years. We are just so glad that his dad's leg wasn't damaged anymore than it was. A log from a tree fell on his leg and broke the same bone in two different places. He was up last night and this morning walking with a walker which is a wonderful sign that he's healing. We have so much to be thankful for.

I can't help but think where we would be as a Christian nation if the Pilgrim's had not made that long journey to the United States so they could worship in freedom from government oppression. We might still be there being forced to worship in bondage. Thanks to those brave men and women who sacrificed all they loved to come here for our religious freedom.

I want to thank all of our service men and women for their dedicated lives to keeping our country a free country. I know that you are missing Thanksgiving with your family and friends, but we truly honor you for your bravery!!! God's blessings on each and every one!!!!

I hope and trust that each one who reads this blog has a wonderful Thanksgiving day!! Reflect on your blessings!! Count them one by one!! Thank God for you very life!! He deserves all our praise!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

It Is Well (As was told to me)

Many years ago just after the civil war, there was a lawyer who lived in the Michigan area. He had five children and loved God with all his heart. He was an extremely intelligent man and was friends with good men such at Dwight L. Moody. This man was a lawyer for doctors and was well loved. One day his little boy became gravely ill and had an infection that could not be treated. The little boy died. His father and mother were so sad over losing their precious little boy. But life goes on.

A few months later this man purchased a strip of properties along Lake Michigan. He intended to transform these buildings into housing and one in particular into a YMCA for his friend Mr. Moody. While making plans, a fire broke out along the water and completely destroyed all of the buildings on the property that this man owned. Feeling so discouraged and broken he sought out his good friend Phil who asked how he was doing and suggested that he take his family to Europe where Mr. Moody was in evangelistic work. This friend thought that he could use a get a way and would like to work with Mr. Moody. So the man made plans with his wife and four daughters to sail to Europe.

The night before they were to sail a knock came at the door and one of the city officials was there. He told this man that he would need to come to a meeting about the property that had been burned. The man explained that he and his family were to set sail the next day. The city official told him that if he didn't show up in two days to the meeting he would possibly lose his land. So he had no choice but to stay behind while his family went ahead to Europe.

While sailing the next day to Europe, there was a great fog that came up on the water; so bad that they could not see where they were going or anything in the way. Fog horns began to sound and bells began to blow as the great ship came into collision course with another ship. They could not avoid each other and the ships collided. It only took twelve minutes for the ship to sink. Most of the passengers were saved but this man's children were all lost at sea. Only his wife was saved.

When the man heard that his family, save his wife, was gone he bowed his head and wept. Why could this have happened? First his little boy, then his property and now his four beautiful daughters. How heavy this mans heart was. He made plans to sail to Europe to join his devastated wife. The grief that this couple shared could only be imagined. How their hearts were broke.

While aboard ship he asked the steward to please let him know when they reached the place where the first ship had gone down. When they reached that spot this man went to the top deck and stood by the rail weeping in agony over the loss of his dear children. It was then that God gently reminded him that He too had lost his Son Jesus. He whispered to this mans heart of the grief that He bore as He watched His Son die on the cross at the hands of cruel men. He then gently reminded this man that He was the peace giver.

Thus, Horatio G. Spafford wrote the beautiful words that we all know so well, It Is Well With My Soul. He sent them back to his friend in Michigan who put the words to music and it will forever be a great hymn of the church.

When peace like a river attendeth my way.

When sorrows like sea billows roll.

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet,

though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded

My helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood

for my soul.

My sin--Oh the bliss of this

glorious tho't.

My sin--not in part

but the whole.

Is nailed to His cross

And I bear it no more

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

O my soul.

And, Lord, haste the day

when the faith shall be sight

The clouds be rolled back

as a scroll.

The trump shall resound

and the Lord shall descend

Even so--it is well with my soul.

God is so good!!!

We were in need of a few things and had a desire for some others...lol!! Since it's 2 totally different things are start with one and then go to the other. Does that make sense???

Tom wanted to can make some home made ketchup. Don't ask me why!! So the neighbor told us to get our tomato's from his vines as he didn't need them. When Tom went to get them today they were for the most part rotted. He was so disappointed. I told him we could do it next year or maybe someone else might have some extra they don't want. He gave up on the idea for the time being. We had a meeting at the school for Tricia and after we were done the Pastor asked us if we wanted some tomatoes. Tom perked right up and said yes. The pastor gave us about a bushel or so of tomatoes. We were flabbergasted!! God knew Toms desires and He gave Tom the tomatoes he needed. We were so thankful!!

Since moving here we knew that we would have to get some winter clothes. I mean, who needs winter clothes in Florida??? At least not like you need them here. Anyway, we were going next week to get some coats and shoes, etc. The same pastor at Tricia's school has a thrift store. He doesn't charge for clothes, only furniture and nic-nacs. He suggested that we come down and look at the store. We went and God again answered prayer. We found 2 long wool coats for church - one for mom and one for me. Also found 3-4 sweaters for Tricia and 2 coats for her. Tom found work pants and a work coat. The pastor found a box of shoes and gave me a practically brand new pair of winter shoes. I also found 3 dresses which I am planning on giving 2 of them to mom since they are her size.

What a blessing this trip to the school turned out to be. We were really worried about this meeting and God took the whole meeting and made it a blessing for us!! Now ain't God good??????

There's always a rainbow after a storm

Tom and I have realized since moving to Ohio that sometimes we just have to grab the end of the rope and hold on til the storm passes over. We have been here since the first of June and we really like the area we are in as well as the beautiful lush green land that is all around us. Looking at all of the beauty that God has created has reminded us of just how much He loves us...more than all His creations He loves us the most (and by that I mean human kind). Sometimes through the storm clouds it's hard to see the love of God.

Work has been slow for Tom. When you work construction you never know what will happen from day to day. The weather plays a big factor in whether you get a full day of work or not. We have seen some not so good weeks since being here. The devil knows how to use that against us. We have struggled quite a bit after moving here. On the other hand, we were working ourselves to death in FL and our kids never saw us. I guess when you think about it we are with our girls more since being here and we haven't starved. We have a lot to be thankful for.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we have been really discouraged and we feel like we are hanging on by a thread. Our one sustaining power is the knowledge that God has not forgotten us and He is supplying our every need. We are working to strengthen our faith and to trust Him more. He is always faithful to our needs and His promises are true. He will not let us down!! We are doing our best to believe this!!

So every day I am finding something to be thankful for. Believe it or not once you start being thankful for one thing, you can find lots more to be thankful for. When we are thankful for what we have in the hard times, God will lift us up and encourage us and we have felt that encouragement. There is a rainbow coming our way!! We are trusting!!

Beans, beans and more beans!!

Finally!! We have beans!!! We planted our garden about a week after we moved here in June and we picked our fist batch tonight. We started a little after 6 and finished a few minutes after 8. We are so blessed!! We probable have enough to can about 14-16 qts. It has been a lot of work but we have really enjoyed it. Now we are just waiting for our corn to produce and hopefully we will have corn to put in the freezer. God is good and we are so very thankful!!!

A big job!!

In thinking of all the things God has asked us to do and has given to us to care for I have found that none of them are greater than our children. They are such a blessing and a beautiful gift to us and we are to take the best care we can of them. God says in His word that we are to "train them up in the way they should go and they would not depart from it." Sometimes that is hard and we have to make some tough decisions, but if we are training them God will take care of the rest.

Tom and I believe 100% in Christian education. We have had our girls in Christian schools since they started. I heard a preacher preach one time on training our children up for Christ. He made this statement "Why would you raise your children in Jerusalem and bus them to Egypt for training?" I have never forgotten that comment. It is our duty as Christian parents to train them first and foremost at home. Teaching them about Christ and His love for them is the most important lesson we can give. I believe that sending them to a Christian school only strengthens the training that we as parents are giving our children at home.

We recently had someone comment about how we are spending too much money sending them to a Christian school. I was rather put out with that person and had to ask God to help them with their ignorance. It is money well spent!!! I worked a lot of hours this past year so that my girls could go and I wouldn't trade one moment for anything else.

Doing it the old fashion way

I have heard so many people talking about making their own laundry soap and I've kind of scoffed at the idea thinking that I couldn't live without my Tide...:):) I finally broke down and decided to make some home made soap. I had been give some recipes and had googled laundry soap and found even more recipes, but I just wasn't happy with any of them. I mean, who wants to spend an entire day trying to make laundry soap? I wanted something fast and efficient that would get the job done without the big expense I had been paying.

My friend Deborah Mershimer posted a recipe on facebook stating that she didn't melt and boil and squish stuff together but rather she just did a dry recipe. She made it sound so quick and easy that I wanted to try it too. I bought the ingrediants and made my first batch. I was so impressed. It was easy to make. Each batch is one grated bar of Fels-Naptha soap, one cup borax and one cup washing soda. All ingredients now available at our WalMart! Yay! You can also use Zote soap or castille soap. Today I made mine with a bar of Ivory soap because I had forgotten to get the Fels- Naptha bar while shopping on Monday. It usually takes about 2-3 tsp. of soap per load and you can add vinegar, bleach and oxy clean if you so desire. It is about 5 cents a load. You can't beat that.

So, I did my first load with this new home made soap. I think that load was towels. After they were done they smelled so fresh and clean I was impressed. But I knew the real test would be on my husbands work clothes. He works construction, mows the hay fields and sweats like a horse. I knew if his clothes (which I do not allow in my clothes hamper) came clean then I was sold on this soap. His clothes came out super clean!!!! They even smelled fresh!!! I was sold!!!!

Now that's all I use. I have 2 little kittens in the house right now because one has a broken leg and their bedding gets yucky!! They come clean and smell fresh!!!

So there it is. I love it and I would encourage you to try it for yourself. You will find it fantastic just like I did!!!

Hello friends

It has been quite a long time since my last update on here. I was so shocked and pleased to see all the comments on my last blog. I had not been to this site and didn't know so many of you were reading my blog. Thank you for your kind comments.

Summer is over and school is here. It's been a wonderful and fulfilling summer with lots of changes in the Wheatcraft household. It would take a book to tell you everything, so I will just highlight the events of our lives for you.

We moved from Florida to Ohio this summer. After 7 yrs. we felt that a change was necessary for our family. So we packed up and in June moved to a very little town in Ohio where there are no street lights and the only public building is the post office. A very radical change for us. We were one mile from Jupiter Island in Florida where all the stores were in walking distance from us and people were everywhere. It was so dry that everything was brown and ugly. Imagine the culture shock (in a good way) when we came to Ohio and everything was green and lush. The trees are so full of leaves and the grass is so soft and green. It took us a while to adjust to the beauty of God's handwork. Not to say that Florida is not beautiful. I love FL and would move back in a heart beat. We just had been used to the brown and dry yards in contrast to the lush green here. We moved into an old farmhouse with 4 bedrooms and lots of space. It has been an experience let me tell you.

You can see how old this house is but we have lots of beautiful yard and even planted a garden. My corn is high as an elephants eye...lol, and my beans are so bushy. They are getting ready to produce and I'm ready to pick...lol. This is another new experience for us because in FL we had nowhere for a garden. I'm looking forward to canning some beans and putting up corn.

Another thing that we are having a hard time with is gas in the vehicles. In FL we hardly had to fill up the cars because everything was so close. Here, we drive 30 minutes to get to Wal-Mart. It's been a challenge to say the least. After moving here and realizing this, we began to plan our trips so that everything we need was bought during that trip so we weren't making unnecessary trips to town.

My Tricia loves horses with a passion. We have never been able to give her a horse for lack of space and money. When we moved here there were 3 horses around the corner from us. Two of them kept getting out and grazing in every one's yards. One morning they found their way to our yard and my garden. I didn't know how to get rid of them and not wanting my garden in their bellies, I called the police. To make a long story short, they came and went and a few days later my hubby was talking with the horse owner and she said she was getting rid of the horses. When he asked her how much she said she was just looking for a good home for them. Tom was so excited to hear this and said we would take them. We took them out to the farm and Tricia is in love.

We are in the process of trying to buy our own place right now. We are hoping to be able to build a home on the farm that Tom's parents own. It's a slow process but we are patiently waiting. Last week the girls added two new kittens to our family. They are so precious. Sunday morning Katie accidentally shut the car door on the little females leg. It is broken so we put a splint on it's leg on Monday and she is sleeping in a cage in the laundry room. She is feeling much better. We named her Callie and we named the tomcat Tiger. We all nicknamed him fatso. He is such a roly-poly. He is a blast!!

Well that lets you know what is going on in our house. I will post pictures later of the kittens. I'm finding that blogspot is frustrating when it comes to pictures. Leave me a comment when you have the time. Take care.