The Multi Mom

Genesis: Chapter 3

2024-05-28T03:42:00.004-05:00

I've decided that as I try to read and understand and study the bible, I will post here my summary of what I think it means and how I interpret it, so thank you for joining me in this journey.

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Genesis: Chapter 3

"The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?"
"Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. "It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’"
"You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil."

Of all the animals God made, the serpent was the shrewdest. And knowing how women think with their feelings, it knew how to appeal to the woman. (This is where I have some beliefs that deviate from the bible. I don't think the serpent was a "he", I think it was Lilith, the first wife of Adam, who didn't want to be dominated by a man so she ran off, and was cursed by God to be a snake. After all, a woman would know best how to appeal to another woman and think the way she does. And how else would the snake know the true workings about the tree of knowledge if it hadn't previously been around to have experienced those things?)

Anyway, the snake approached Eve and asked about the fruit and the trees, wording it so that Eve would correct it. The snake was baiting Eve to get the the part where she would tell the serpent about dying if she ate it or even touched it so the snake could revel the secret.

"The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.

After the serpant put that little bug in Eve's ear, she couldn't stop thinking about the fruit of the tree of knowledge, and the more she had to see something she knew she wasn't supposed to have, the more she wanted it. She caved in and ate the fruit. Then appealing to the logic of man, she convinced Adam to eat it, too.

At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

Now that they had gained knowledge of life, they understood was shame was. (They probably gained other senses like modesty, dignity, embarrassment, guilt, etc.) They realized they were naked and wanted to cover themselves up, so they sewed fig leaves together to make covering for their personal parts.

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees.

Evening came. The man and woman could hear God walking in the garden, so they hid from him, I imagine out of guilt for what they had done.

Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

“Who told you that you were naked?” the LORD God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”

The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

God could sense something was up. I'm sure he knew exactly where the man was, but called out to him anyway to let him know he was actively looking for him. So the man came out to explain. When he gave such an odd answer, just like a child would do when being honest about something they were guilty of, God knew what he had done, so he asked him directly if he ate the fruit from the tree that he told him not to eat from. Then man took accountability for himself, but tried to pass the blame off onto the woman by saying "the woman you gave me". I'm sure the man was thinking that if God knew he was tricked into doing it, that he might be excused from the crime. But he didn’t know that this was God's test, to see if he would be honest about it. They could have eaten from tree of everlasting life, or they could have chosen to be obedient and not do anything... but the opportunity to know new things, after being told they weren't allowed to? It was just too tempting.

Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

Eve didn't do any better here. She also took accountability for what she did, but she also tried to pass the blame, but she passed her blame onto the snake.

Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

God saw that the snake DID play a part in this though, and punished it as well. He told the snake that because it had played a part in instigating all of this, it would be the most cured of all animals. That's why we associate snakes with evil to this day, for the most part (other than the iron snake on the medical symbol). That's why so many people fear snakes. This last verse is interesting though. "He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." Many people say it refers to Jesus bruising Satan's head, and Satan causing Jesus to die at the cross? But I see it as - either way, both creatures get injured. The man, and the snake. The good, and the evil. But while the evil gets it's attack in by going for the good's heel, the good shall triumph as it strikes the killing blow to evil's head.

Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”

The part here about pregnancy is obvious. They don't call it "labor pains" for nothing. When a woman goes into labor, it hurts. While she WANTS to push, it's still very painful. But the part about wanting to control her husband, but he shall rule over her? That's a lesson many woman still need to learn to this day. That's part of what destroys marriages, because a woman won't be subservient to her husband like she is supposed to. I can't say that "if women were less wild like Lilith and more docile like Eve, things would blah blah blah better" because God just told Eve that she would desire to control her husband, especially now that she had gained new feelings, thoughts, and personality traits from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It's just a principle of nature, that men are supposed to rule the roost, and women are always going to think they can control the man.

And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”

This was God's way of telling Adam "You had it easy. The fruit just grew on it's own for you. Now you're gonna have to work hard for it." He told him that now the ground was going to be cursed (meaning the food wouldn't just magically keep reproducing on it's own) and man was going to have to eat in order to live, so he would have to put in the work to earn the food. He would have to plant the seeds, weed it, water it, give it sunshine. He would get sweaty doing it, and there would be thorns and thistles to sometimes get in the way. He would eventually have to die and return to the ground from which he was created. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, as they say.

Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live.

Pretty self-explanatory. She was the first woman, the eve of all other people to come.

And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.

I imagine this is where the first animal sacrifices have taken place? Because God had to make clothing of animal skins for Adam and Eve, he had to kill some kind of animal to do it.

Then the LORD God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the LORD God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made.

I bet at this point, God was feeling pretty salty about what happened. After all, have you ever put your trust into someone (like your own child), with the understanding that they would do as commanded, only to find out that they didn't listen to you? How did it make you feel? You try to tell your kids not to touch the stove, it's hot, and then they do. Aren't you both mad and concerned? But you know it's a lesson they had to learn. So I picture God talking to the angels about Adam and Eve, saying "Look, now they have consciousness. They know good and evil, just like us. They know shame, guilt, how to be sneaky, how to get what they want... Next they'll find a way to eat from the Tree of Life and live forever. But not if I can help it! Before they can even think of it, I'm going to banish them. I'm done with letting them eat whatever they want from here. They're leaving Eden, where they are going to have to work for their food."

After sending them out, the LORD God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

So Adam and Eve were officially banished. The East of Eden must have been the only way in, because that's where he placed guards with a flaming sword to keep them from getting back in. So he not only had the might cherubim guards to keep anyone from getting back in, but the flaming sword was there, moving back and forth like some obstacle in a game so that no human could get to the tree of life.

Genesis: Chapter 2

2024-05-15T15:38:00.001-05:00

I've decided that as I try to read and understand and study the bible, I will post here my summary of what I think it means and how I interpret it, so thank you for joining me in this journey.

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Genesis: Chapter 2

"So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation."

Now everything was done. The universe was made. Since God was finished on the seventh day, he rested. He blessed this day and declared it holy. (Sunday... which suggests that it is actually the last day of the week, does it not?)

"This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. The Man and Woman in Eden When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the LORD God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate the soil. Instead, springs came up from the ground and watered all the land."

This is the statement of how everything was created. About how man and woman existed in Eden, and now neither wild plants or grains grew yet because God did not yet send rain to help them grow, and no one else was around to help work the ground anyway. Instead, springs and mists of water came up from the ground and provided a water source for the land.

"Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made."

God decided to create a man from dust. He breathed into his nostrils with the breath of life (which is also said to be the pronunciation and true name of God) and the man came to life. Then he planted a garden in the East of Eden, and that's where he put the man that he made to live there.

"The LORD God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."

After God made a living space for the man to live, he made all sorts of trees grow from the ground. The trees were beautiful and they grew delicious fruits of every kind. In the middle of the garden, he placed two very special trees, the tree of life, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

"A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches. The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found. The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. The second branch, called the Gihon, flowed around the entire land of Cush. The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth branch is called the Euphrates."

There was a river that flowed out of Eden. This river watered the Garden of Eden before breaking into four different rivers. One was called Pishon and it went around the whole land of Havilah. Havilah is a land where gold the gold you find there is exceptionally pure, and there is also strong smelling resin and onyx stone. The second river is called Gihon, which goes around the entire land of Cush. The third is called Tigris, which flows east from the land Asshur, and we know it exists today in Mesopotamia. And the fourth river is called the Euphrates, which we also know exists in Mesopotamia.

"The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden - except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

God placed the man that he made in the Garden of Eden to take care of it and watch over it, and he told him he could eat from any tree, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If he went against what God said and ate fruit from that particular tree, he would be sure to die. (That's probably why we can't live forever, we eventually have to pay the price of death. But what about the tree of life? What if he ate from that other special tree? What would have happened then?)

"Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” So the LORD God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals."

Then God knew that it wasn't good for the man to be all by himself, so he made animals and birds (also from the ground) to keep him company. He brought them to the man, and the man named each one. (All of the names for animals originally came from Adam, but all the new animals we are discovering today are all given names by the descendants of Adam.

"But still there was no helper just right for him. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the LORD God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man."

The animals just weren't good enough to help out the man like he needed. And although they were good company, and as much time it took to name so many of them, they just weren't what he needed. So God made the man fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, God took out one of his ribs and closed the opening where he took it from with flesh. Then God made a woman from that rib, and brought her to the man some time after he was awake.

“At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame."

The man was excited because this new person was just like him, same kind of bones, and same kind of flesh. He said that she would be called "woman" because she came from a man's woe (Adam yearning for someone like himself). This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins his wife and the two become united as one, and have children (both of the DNA from two beings becoming one being). And both of them were naked, but they didn't know what being ashamed felt like, so there was no shame between them.

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End of Genesis: Chapter 2

Genesis: Chapter 1

2024-05-13T10:28:00.001-05:00

I've decided that as I try to read and understand and study the bible, I will post here my summary of what I think it means and how I interpret it. And although my Pastor suggests not starting in Genesis, I thought I'd go ahead and give it a whirl. I think the best way to do this (at the moment) is chapter by chapter, so thank you for joining me in this journey.

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Genesis: Chapter 1

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters."

In the beginning, God created the universe, even the very planet we live on. The Earth was just a meteor without any shape and no life no land, only water, and it was always dark. (Because of this, it stands to reason that perhaps we really ARE the only planet with life on it? And does this mean the Earth existed before the Sun? Seeing as how science believes the Earth and the sun were both created about 4.5 billion years ago, then yes, it would stand to reason that the Earth could have been formed before the sun.)

"Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day."

Then the sun formed, and there was light. And the Earth rotated around the sun, making night and day. God saw the benefits of what night and day did to earth (tides, temperature, weather), and he saw the potential and it was a good thing.

"Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. God called the space “sky.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day."

As the sun heated up the Earth, it became a planet of humidity, and he created oxygen to be a space that formed a layer between the evaporating waters and clouds above, and the deep waters below. Night came and went, ending the second day.

"Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good."

On the third day, as more evaporation occurred, the surface of the ground began to peak, becoming the land, and the waters were known as the seas and ocean. God saw the potential in this and thought it was good.

"Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day."

Then God said to let grass, plants, and trees, and anything that makes seeds and fruits that bear seeds to keep producing plants of their own kind with seeds. All sorts of vegetation covered the ground. Then night and day came, the third day passed.

"Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day."

Then he made planets visible to the sky, so we had stars, sun and moon. We would be able to use the stars be to determine seasons, days, years, and locations. (But wait... If light existed BEFORE the sun was put in the sky, then where did the light come from? The answer is that the light came from God because He IS the light.) He saw that it was good. Day and night passed, and the fourth day was completed.

"Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth. And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day."

Then God created creatures for the water, and birds for the sky. Whatever this creature was, it would give birth to the same creature of it's kind. He blessed them and told them to multiply. Evening passed and morning came. That was the 5th day.

"Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good."

Then God created land animals, and also had them make babies of the same kind. (A monkey could only mate with a monkey, a chicken only with another chicken. Etc.) God saw that it was good.

"Then God said, “Let us make human beings." So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened. Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day."

Then God made human beings that looked similar to him. He made them male and female. (But wait... If this says he already made a female, how does Eve come from Adam's rib, as they don't come in until Chapter 2? Does this mean there were more people in Eden other than just Adam and Eve??? The answer here is no... There was no one before them, as Chapter 2 just goes back and tells more in-depth history to the creation story.) He told the humans to bear children and grow in numbers. He told them to master the animals and the land, and to eat the plants that grow fruit and the plants that make seeds. Leafy plants were for the animals. Basically, he told humans to take care of his creations, and be vegetarians (even though this would later change). He saw that it was good, evening passed, morning came, and that was the sixth day.

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End of Genesis: Chapter 1

Be Angry and Sin Not

2024-05-12T13:00:00.010-05:00

For our May 12, 2024 Sunday School class, we were asked "How do you be angry and sin not?" Meaning how can you get made and be angry, but not be a sinner in doing so? So we read over Ephesians 4:17-32, which says "With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you."

We have got to train ourselves to think the way God wants us to think. Sometimes when we get angry, it's best to just keep our mouths shut. But some people would even lie when the truth would sound better. For example, they might say they're too sick to go out and do something when really they feel fine, they just don't want to. I don't know about you, but I would rather hear that someone just don't feel like doing it, rather than worrying about them being sick and wishing there was something I could do to help.

But how do keep yourself from getting angry? Maybe don't let yourself get tired. Be well fed. Sometimes you're still gong to get angry, so how do you be angry without sinning? Sometimes you gotta take a step back and refocus. Wait it out. Walk away. Ask for forgiveness. Turn something bad into love. Sometimes people have to be the bigger person and give it to God. Pray about it. Tolerate it. Have some forbearance.

When you have resentments – think of the cause, effect, and your part in it. Sometimes you're a part of the fault even though you may not have realized it. And people don't like to hear this, but sometimes the road to hell is paved with good intentions. You may have meant to help someone or do something good for somebody, but then something bad comes out of it unexpectedly. You might have thought that baking a sweet for your neighbor was a good idea, but then they chip a tooth or develop a cavity from it. It was unintentional, but that would be an example of a situation where you were part of the fault even though you didn't realize it.

When someone says something and you say – that's stupid... think about what would make them say that, or think about what could be the cause of it. There may have been something going on with them that made them say that stupid thing. Or maybe the problem is with you? Why is it so stupid to you? Are you lacking tolerance? Does what they say touch a nerve with you, and maybe it's something you need to work out with yourself?

Whatever the case, if you find yourself getting angry about something, try to remember that just because you're angry, that doesn't give you an excuse to sin. Uncontrolled anger leads to doing something wrong. Do you best to take a moment, pray about it, and give it to God. Be angry and sin not.

Wring it Out Like a Sponge

2024-05-12T11:30:00.010-05:00

For our May 12, 2024 Sunday School lesson, we started off by talking about "grace", which as the Pastor put it, stands for God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Earn God's blessings and riches through the expense of Jesus Christ, not by you trying to earn them through your own expense and works. Thank God, praise and worship Jesus Christ who paid the price, and everything on earth and in the heaven is yours.

Ephesians 2:10 says "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Our life is a work of God. He works within you to get you to him. Everything you have done has been influenced by God, and though you have had free will to make your decisions and choose your path, he's the one who brought you to where you are now. He has always known where you will end up and where you are going to be. So what are you going to do with it?

Some of the things we can do with it is by helping to take care of our neighbors. We can help those in need. We can talk to people about God. We can help out with the church.

Something we have to think about is - are we the sinner or is God the sinner? Of course it's us. So all of this going to church and trying to be a good person - is this really about God? Or are we just in this for ourselves? Sure, in the beginning it might be. But don't let that become the only reason for you to be going to church or helping someone out. Don't do it because you're just trying to feel better about yourself. Do it because you want THEM to feel better.

Remember JOY. You put Jesus first, then Others, and then Yourself. In the beginning, we come to church like a sponge. We soak it up, taking in the good stuff and learning about everything, but then eventually you gotta wring it out. The church does what it can to help you out, but eventually you should be wringing it out on others, or as they say - Pay it forward.

Just don't wring yourself out so much that you can't help others because SOMETIMES you gotta take care of yourself too. Life is not about ourselves. That is when we are most miserable. When we focus on our self, we either start to see our flaws more and don't like ourselves, or we become so overconfident that we don't like others, or they don't like us.

But as 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 says, "Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love." Take care of yourself so that you don't become stretched too thin, but do everything in love. Put others before yourself, and do it with love.

We Are Saints

2024-05-05T21:29:00.028-05:00

For Sunday School, May 5, 2024, we talked about how there is a big difference between people who die without hearing the gospel, and those of us who do. We're held more accountable because we're now expected to know the difference between what God wants us to do, and what he doesn't. People who don't know can't exactly hold accountability, because they haven't been taught the difference and are ignorant to what is expected of them.

Yet we are to live blamelessly, so that you can't look at someone else's life and blame them for the way YOUR life is. You can't pre-judge people, but you can have opinions. Opinions are how you feel. Judging people is a false fact. An opinion of mine would be: I don't like okra. But a judgement of okra would be for me to say: Okra is disgusting. One states what I personally feel about it, and the other assumes that it is the opinion for everyone. And to assume makes an ass out of u and me, as the saying goes.

What do you think of when you hear about a Saint? Did you know we are to be saint-like? Because we are saints. As Ephesians 1:1 says, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus." To Paul, a saint was anyone who believed in Jesus. Saints are those who are consecrated and claimed by God for His service.

But you might ask the question, "How can we call ourselves saints if we are sinners?" So let's say you're in a dirty room, and there's dirty people. And there's well dressed people. Who is more likely to get upset when they get dirty in that room? The well dressed people. Dirty people will be fine with the dirt.

What I'm saying is that - the reason why we should see ourselves as saints is because we will do better to be good people and stay clean if we hold ourselves up to being pristine. If you're clean and you get dirty, it will bother you more than if you are already filthy and you get more filth on you. So if you are spiritually clean and you do something bad, it will bother you and you will do better to try and stay clean, rather than someone who is a constant sinner and thinks to themselves, "Eh, it's only one more sin. How bad can it be?"

The difference between someone who has heard the gospel and someone who hasn't – we have heard it so we're held more accountable. So if we see ourselves as saints, we try to do better to be good people and stay clean. We're more inspired to live in our souls rather than our bodies.

2 Corinthians 5:6-10 says "So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body."

As long as we are in our bodies, we're not truly with God. You are not a body, you possess a body, and your soul should be in charge, not the body. We're supposed to walk by faith, not by sight (or as some people believe - seeing is believing. Sometimes you just have to trust and have faith.)

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 tells us "And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words."

Every christian is to live with the hope that Jesus will come back in their lifetime. The body goes to sleep in the ground and the soul goes into the presence of Jesus. Even if all the things you wanted don't work out, if all of your hopes and dreams remain just hopes and dreams and never come to pass, our hopes when we die should be to meet with the Lord. Everything we believe is based on Christ's resurrection.

For example, in 1 Corinthians 15:21-23, it says "So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back." Because Jesus was resurrected, so shall we be resurrected as well. Not those who just belong TO Christ, but those who belong IN Christ. They are the ones who shall be made alive again.

When Jesus was resurrected, his body was transformed. If we believed that he just mystically arose from the grave, we have nothing to go off of. He had to physically get out. With his new body, he went through the stone at the resurrection. Like a 4th dimensional being, he knew the insides and out. (In the 3rd dimension, we can only see the outside of a box unless we open it and look inside, in the 4th dimension, you see both the inside and outside without having to open it. One day I should make a blog about the specifics of the first 4 dimensions and how they work.)

To believe it was just his spirit that showed himself to his disciples means there might as well not have been a resurrection at all. He had to physically be there for them to hold his hands and see the wounds that he bore. Why do people who don't believe in the resurrection even show up? (That's a personal statement.)

Anyway, to conclude this entry... You are a saint whether you feel like you deserve to be called one or not. And why should you believe that? Because as 1 Corinthians 15:47-54 says, "Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory."

One day, you will be with God in his Kingdom. While you are still in this body, right now in this time, do what you can to be a good person and do good things. Live a good Godly life. Be saint-like. Keep yourselves clean. Yes, your body will be transformed some day, but it is your soul that will be judged.

Salvation - The Gift for Everyone

2024-05-05T11:30:00.015-05:00

For Sunday School, May 5, 2024, we started off by reading Ephesians 2:8-10 which says "God saved you by his grace through faith. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

Faith is our conduit. It is through faith that we get through the hard times. Through faith, we are saved. Faith makes us feel good because we know that once we give it to God, he will make things right. Through faith, we are given salvation, and it feels good because it is our gift.

Let's say there's a man who comes up to you and he says "I'm gonna give you a gift. It's going to be an amazing gift, but you just have to work for me a couple of days". That's not a gift. That's a bribe. God gives you salvation as a gift, not as a reward for a trade-off. Salvation is not a gift to be won, so you can't boast about it. It's for everyone. We are ALL worthy.

It doesn't matter who you are, as Ephesians 1:4 says, "Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes." Adam was made in the image of God and we are all made in the image of those before us (following our DNA traits, all the way back to Adam and Eve).

We're not all children of God until we get saved and live as God wants us to. We're not born into the family of God. We're adopted in. When you're adopted, you are chosen. However, it's a mutual thing. He doesn't just choose particular people. Those people have to choose HIM. And that's where our free will comes into play. Not everyone will choose to have faith in him, and not everyone wants the gift of salvation. He gives them free will to make that decision on their own.

God knew who was going to come to him, and who was going to reject him. But why does he allow it to happen? Because he gives us the choice. Some people eventually find their way, and that is where his mercy and love shines on us. He wants that none shall perish, but we have to want it too, and he is here for us, waiting for us, when we are ready.

Eve kind of fell into the trap, but Adam chose his decision. The serpent played on her emotions to convince her to eat the forbidden fruit, because women are emotional and think with their feelings, but Eve appealed to the logic of men when she convinced Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. Even though they were tricked, they made their decisions, knowing they weren't supposed to do what they did. They knew the right choice from the wrong choice, but had free will, and chose the wrong choice.

Even though they were banished from Eden and paid the price of an eventual death, God still says we deserve salvation under his blood. That's why people are innocent until proven guilty, because the devil will ALWAYS say you're guilty (unless he's trying to deceive you). God has no pleasure for the death of the wicked.

We are to live our lives for his pleasure. He gives us all limited sovereignty. Revalations 4:11 says “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” He created us, we are his creations of pleasure.

God Will Take You Out

2024-05-01T22:43:00.270-05:00

Tonight at evening service, we went over Genesis, Chapter 12. It states, as follows:

"The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”"

You notice here that God said HE will curse the people who treat Abraham. He didn't tell Abraham to go out and curse people. When you get mad at people, you can't just go around cursing them, as much as you want to. Technically, you can, but that's not the right thing to do. God wants you to be a blessing to others. If you have some beef with somebody so much that you feel like they need to be cursed, then you need to figure out what's going on in YOUR heart.

"So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the LORD, who had appeared to him. After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the LORD, and he worshiped the LORD."

If you've noticed, Abraham did not just build one alter where he went. He would build one in every place he resided. How many times have you met God at the alter in your life? You meet him when you give your life to God. If you're lucky, you meet him at the alter to bless your union for your wedding. Me, personally? I feel like I've internally given my life to God at this point, but I've still not done it externally. I haven't really went to the alter to ask for forgiveness for my sins, or to physically speak my dedication to God. I hope to soon though. When we get the chance, my brother, and Khloe and Devin and I all want to get baptized together. I didn't want to get baptized right away. I wanted to make sure I felt like I truly belonged somewhere before I took that step. And now I do, so I feel like I'm finally ready to make it official, so to speak, by this ceremony which represents my rebirth as a Christian.

"Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev. At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner."

Here, Egypt represents the world. Basically, when Abraham enters Egypt, this represents him bringing God to the world.

"As he was approaching the border of Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, you are a very beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife. Let’s kill him; then we can have her!’ So please tell them you are my sister. Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you.” And sure enough, when Abram arrived in Egypt, everyone noticed Sarai’s beauty. When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh, their king, and Sarai was taken into his palace. Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her—sheep, goats, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. But the LORD sent terrible plagues upon Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh summoned Abram and accused him sharply. “What have you done to me?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ and allow me to take her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and get out of here!” Pharaoh ordered some of his men to escort them, and he sent Abram out of the country, along with his wife and all his possessions.

You would think that for a man representing God, Abraham would have been an honest man, but the first thing he does is lie to them, and had his wife life because she is so beautiful, so he has her tell them she is his sister so that they wouldn't want to kill him and take her. Sometimes... SOMETIMES lies are necessary. After all, the 10 commandments does not mention lying amongst them.

But now the pharaoh had knowledge of Abraham's God, and had fear of his God because he got plagued. Otherwise the pharaoh might have just killed him anyway, but because he now feared the wrath of Abraham's God, whom had already sent terrible plagues amongst the pharaoh and his household, he just told him to take his things, his wife, and go.

Abraham was saved - not because he was a good man... You don't have to be a good man to be saved. You just have to be a man who has faith in God and trusts God. Believing IN God and believing God are separate. Believing in him doesn't mean you're going to trust him and do as he wants you to do. Believing him means you will do whatever he asks of you. You trust him and have faith in him.

Now let's go back to the beginning of the chapter, where God told Abraham to “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” When you get saved, God wants to separate you spiritually (and sometimes actually physically) from the world you knew. You need a new scene. Sometimes you gotta just get away from your past life and start fresh. Abraham's parents were pagans and he had to get away from them, that place, etc.

Like 2 Corinthains 6:17 says, "Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you."

God needs to put you in another place to get you out from a bad place, but the Devil tries to get you back. In a lot of ways, this reminds me of the situation with my brother. When he stayed with us the first time, things were pretty good for him. He got away from the bad people and the bad situations, but Satan pulled him right back away from us. He was just itching to get back to the bad things he originally tried to escape. Then he hit the bottom again, hiding out place to place, stealing and lying to get by... eventually he went back to rehab, and has come back, but this time he has joined our church, and seems to be doing really well! Hopefully this time he stays faithful to God, and between the both of us, maybe we can keep him on track this time. I, myself, just have to trust that this is what God wants me to do as well, to guide him, help him grow, help him stay right, and keep him away from the bad people who influenced him before. Who knows? Maybe he can find a good church girl along the way, instead of picking up trash from the street.

As 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?" Or as another version says, "Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?"

You can't date unsafe people because you'll end up marrying one of them. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes light overcomes darkness and both of the people work well together and support one another and are able to lift each other out of the dark... But more likely than not, if you love and support a sinner, it will drag the believer away from God.

It's easy to avoid it though. Just avoid people like that. Fellowship with people at your church. Find like minded people who just want to live a good life and be good to others. People with good morals and values. Listen... Darkness don't overcome light. Only you can allow the darkness to take it out. You remember that song "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine"? When it says not to put your light under a bushel or let Satan put it out? You're the one putting your light away and hiding it. So when you find yourself in the dark - only you can get yourself out. Thankfully God will guide you if you allow him, but it's your free will to make that decision.

When you get saved, there becomes something in you that doesn't feel right going back to that old life. If you can go back to that place, back to those people, those habits and situations... and you're fine with it??? If it doesn't bother you, were you even actually saved? Something to think about as we end this entry.

The Parable of the Lost Son

2024-04-28T23:30:00.010-05:00

For morning service of April 28, 2024, we discussed Luke 15, and the Parable of the Lost Son, a story about a son that let guilt get to him and kept him from returning home. But when he finally got home, he told his father - I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Please at least me be your servant (because he was starving and desperate) but his father took him in and gave him love and a new robe. Family forgives and loves you, just as God does.

He wouldn't have had to lose all of the things he lost if he just would have had patience and waited on his father to give it to him as it came along. Just as we learned earlier today about patience, trust, and waiting. He had dreams about adventures and big plans and hopes... but that time he spent dreaming, he was wasting when he could have been living and actually putting things into action. (I resonated with this, as I spend a lot of time planning and coming up with things that I dream one day will happen, when I should be actually out there working toward making them happen.)

Then came the trouble for him... Trouble comes at the worst times because the Devil waits until the perfect time to make your trouble worse. So this son, not only did he lose all of his money, wasting it on cheap thrills and stupid choices, but then he ended up having to live with the pigs in order to try and make a living.

God didn't make us to live among the swine and eat like them and be like them. But this is what happens when you go against what God meant for you to do and be. It's during these terrible moments that you come to your senses and wake up and realize that you deserve better than this, and you're wasting your life, time, and talent. You don't get the blessings of God until you return to him and surrender. This son had got it worse than even the hired servants.

The "famine" he dealt with represents the wrong seeds that he had sewn. Just as we're told if we sew the right kind of seeds, we will reap the good rewards of it, if we sew the wrong kind of seeds, we're gonna be hurting. If you're supposed to be out there planting a garden for your family to eat from, and instead you're out partying and wasting your time, then your family is going to starve because you would rather be satisfying your lusts instead of being responsible. You can't abandon responsibility without paying a price.

When you're spiritually hungry and you're just feeding yourself with empty husks, you need to be spiritually full and you can do that with God. The son in the story starts to figure it out and see it, so he finally puts his pride to the side and returns to his father. We don't realize what sin is until we wake up. We can't just go out and tell people what they're doing wrong and that they're sinning, they have to figure it out for themselves.

The biggest sin is to tell yourself - I don't believe God, I don't trust God.

Sometimes you have to go through the literal shit (him living with the pigs and starving) to learn, grow, and finally become worthy. Sometimes he has to make you go through the bad things to get you where you need to be. After all, it is though our mistakes, through suffering and pain that we learn and grow to be better people.

He had an attitude adjustment, going from "give me" to "make me", when he was telling his father to give him his money early so he could go have fun with it, verus when he said to make him one of his servants. Sometimes in life, you need to try and not learn everything the hard way.

Not only does his father accept him, but was looking for him to come home. He ran to him! And despite the stink and appearance, he still kissed his neck and embraced him. It very much reminded me of how many times my Mom forgave my brother, even after she SAID she was DONE with him.

In fact, this very story reminded me of me and my brother, because he was the one who went out and had all the fun and made all of the stupid mistakes. Meanwhile, I was the good child, the one who stayed with the parent and was the ideal person. I was the jealous one who didn't think it was fair that the other sibling could do whatever he wanted and still be welcomed back and celebrated. Meanwhile, here I was the whole time, doing what I was supposed to, but being overlooked. Where was MY celebration?

But I'm glad my brother and I are on equal terms now. Just as he has been brought back to the light, I have been humbled. We both found a connection and a bond through going to church. Who would have known that it would be church that would bring us back together? I certainly never would have imagined it a couple of years ago. A year ago from when this was published, I was thinking of giving church a chance for a sense of community with good people, but now I'm glad I found my true appreciation for God and I can honestly say I believe now. Thank you God for helping me find my way back to you, and this time I truly feel like I belong here.

Needeth Not Be Ashamed

2024-04-28T14:18:00.018-05:00

In the Pastor's bible, during our Sunday School class for April 28, 2024, in 2 Timothy 2:15 it says "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Those words "needeth not be ashamed"... Part of your redemption is to take your past and use it to make yourself a better person.

Let's say our sins are laid out on the ground, covering a vast territory, East to West, North to South... Sins all over the place... And the blood of Jesus covers our sins. It doesn't matter how much space our sins take up, his blood covers it all. Our sins can't just hide under a rock. No stone is left unturned that his blood can't cover.

But our shame? Satan encourages us to let our shame stand up out of that pool of blood like spires. But you know what? Jesus's blood ALSO covers our shame. No matter how far those spires of shame try to reach, his blood covers it ALL.

Is the blood of Jesus strong enough to cover the strength of our sins and keep them from rearing up? That's where our faith comes in. That's why they say to just put it in Jesus's hands. No matter how worried you are, how shameful you feel... just put your faith in God and know that Jesus has got you covered.

1 John 1:8-10 states "If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts."

If we confess our sins, we will be cleansed. The devil tries to keep bringing up those sins so that you will feel shame, and therefore you will be discouraged. But you can't just say what you did wrong and expect to be forgiven. God knows what's in your heart. If you say you're sorry for cheating, but don't do what you can to make amends, and you don't truly feel remorse in your heart? You're not really repenting for your sin. Ask for forgiveness and MEAN it.

Like I said, there's no person too far out, too far down, or too far above that God can't reach. And what do you do about things you can't fix? Give it to God. Trust him. REST and WAIT. Have patience. Turn it over to God and let go of it. Your mind will tell you – if you just let it go, you must not care, but that's just Satan trying to discourage you again.

God knows what's in your heart. He knows if you mean it or not when you ask for forgiveness. He knows if you mean it or not when you say you put your faith in him. He knows if you mean it or not when you pray, or if you're just going through the motions. And this is why you can't judge someone based on how they look. Just because someone looks like a good church person on the outside, it doesn't mean they're that way on the inside. And just because someone looks like a shady person on the outside, that doesn't mean they're a bad person or unworthy of God on the inside.

1 Samuel 16:7 says "But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

That's why Jesus was so adamant about judging people, because you don't know what's going on in the inside. Just know that God knows. He knows what's really going on in your heart and your mind. But also know that he is forgiving, if you truly want to be forgiven. He is merciful and good, and he loves you.

How to Sturdy Yourself

2024-04-28T13:41:00.001-05:00

For Sunday School, April 28, 2024 - we discussed "doctrine" and what it means to sturdy yourself. There is a difference between studying the bible, and sturdying yourself with it. When you study the bible, you read it, you learn facts, locations, times... but when you sturdy yourself with it, you take to heart the message that is being presented. You understand what the moral of the story is, and you live your life by it.

What is the bible good for?

As 2 Timothy, 3:16-17 says: All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

Doctrine - The bible teaches us what IS right.

Reproof: The bible teaches us what is NOT right.

Correction: The bible teaches us how to GET right.

Instruction: The bible teaches us how to STAY right.

These are the things that the bible is good for. You just need to keep reading and stay on the scripture. As you read and study, it comes into your heart and you start feeling it and accept it.

During a service, do you hear something that the preacher says that resonates with you, and you find your mind drifting off about it, and then before you know it, you've missed out on some of the conversation? Different people will hear different things, and do you know what that is? That is the holy spirit telling us what we need to hear at that time.

Sturdy yourself with the bible. As 2 Timothy 2:15 says: "Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth." Learn the bible, and take it to heart so that when you come face to face with God, you don't feel like a fool for not knowing his word, or being unsure of what you should have known by now.

As I've said in my blog about The Milk and the Meat, once you learn the word of God, you are expected to be responsible for it, so learn it the best way that you can. You can't just skim over the chapters and only pick which parts you're going to follow. Be confident in knowing that if asked, you can answer to God himself, if needed to.

Let's go over that verse again from my Pastor's bible. It states "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." What does it mean by "Rightly dividing the word of truth"? It means to know what fits together as you read the bible, and tie together what makes it fit. But don't pick and choose from the bible.

For example, don't be a man that says "Okay God, I'm going to close my eyes and flip through the pages, and whatever verse my finger lands on is what you're trying to tell me right now." and you end up flipping to a random page, and then you land on Matthew 27:5 which says "Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself." Then you think "Well maybe that's not the right message. Maybe I need to try it again." So you do it again, and you land on Luke 10:37 where it says "Go and do likewise". So you go out and hang yourself. That's not the way it's done! That's not how you read and learn the bible.

You don't pick and choose the verses, just as you don't only apply the parts of the bible to your life that you want to fit. You use all of it to build up your life and live the way God wants you to. This is his instruction manual. You wouldn't start building a shed halfway though the manual, skipping all of the parts for building the frame and foundation, would you? And then skip from the walls to the roof, then back to the doorway, and then the frame. Read it. Understand it. Sometimes it might take you a few read-throughs, but that's why it's called the living word, because every time you read though it again, you get something new out of it that you didn't realize before.

Deer Chili!

2024-04-25T13:06:00.001-05:00

FINALLY got to make some deer chili!!! (My favorite 🥰) It's been at least 5 years since I've been able to make it. (You can't imagine how happy deer chili makes me! lol) So there's this sweet guy at church named Ben. We got on the subject of deer on the roads one night when he came to pick up me and my brother for church, as he was doing the driving for transportation that night. I was talking about how much I love using deer meat for cooking, especially chili, and he said he loves hunting deer, just not eating them. So he said he had some to share some time if I wanted it. So I said sure!

Then one Wednesday evening, he showed up at church with a few frozen bags of it. That weekend (this weekend that just passed), I used my food processor to grind it up, and then I pressure cooked a few jars of it to share. I gave one to our Pastor Randy and his wife Debbie, and of course one to Ben, even though he said he doesn't really care for the meat, and that chili gives him heartburn. I told him "I bet you'll like my chili, though!" lol When he came in the door, I said "Alright, listen. You can either eat it or don't... If you don't want it, just give it to someone you work with, and you'll make their day because it's amazing." He said he will give it a try.

So thanks again to Ben! The kids love my chili as it is normally anyway, but even they agree that nothing beats using deer meat instead of beef! It really is delicious 😁

Update: So then today, I used some of the leftover chili and put it on top of some homemade hashbrowns for brunch. It was sooooo yummy! 🤤 I have just enough left to do it one more time lol And I only used 2 out of the 3 bags for meat, so I can make deer chili once more, probably in another month.

Never-Before Seen Content!

2024-04-16T11:42:00.001-05:00

On top of all the new blogs I plan on publishing soon (I hope), I also plan on bringing back some old stuff that you guys have never seen before! Pretty much a big chunk of my life, I have documented everything, from when I was a teenager until now, whether it be notes, photographs, blogs, vlogs, journals... I've always had a habit of documenting life and writing things down. I've added some old stuff on here before (sorry to my Mom for the times she didn't realize they were old entries that I was posting here even though I put "posted on a particular date" on the older ones) and I'm going to do that again.

Some of them are from old journals I had written down, or messages or tweets that I had sent on that particular date. Others are old blogs from places like deadjournal, or DeviantArt. Others may be from notes I sent myself or calendar events. And then there's blogs on here that are still marked as "drafts" that I want to finish and finally bring to the light. Either way, this is just a head's up to let you guys know that some old stuff will be mixed in with the new, so I hope you enjoy everything I have to offer.

Thanks for hanging out!

xoxox

Church Blogs?

2024-04-16T11:03:00.006-05:00

If anyone knows me, they will know how I've spent most of my life being a non-believer of the "common Christian concept of God". I never agreed with it in the past, and though I supported religion for inspiring others to be good and do good things, there was something that just didn't sit right with me... until November of 2023. That's when I was going through some changes, I was making bad choices, and I decided it was time to seek the guidance of God and follow my instincts. (One day I'll get into the story all about that as well. Never could trust my instincts until a few years back.)

I've been learning a lot and I've been very inspired by the church we like to go to. And because of that, I've decided to wake this old blog back up and start posting about what we learned in our Sunday School class, and discuss it on here; what it means to me and what I get out of it. That includes the evening services and recovery services as well. Any time I get to go to church and I have something I'm learning about, I want to discuss it here and share it with you all. I just got a Chromebook recently from the school auction, so I'm hoping to dedicate it to this purpose so that any time I feel inspired, I can crack it open and share my thoughts.

On another note, I hope everyone has been well! It's spring which means I've been gathering edible weeds and planting fruit trees. It's also income tax season which means I've recently gotten a lot of upgrades for our homestead. Hopefully I can post about them later as well. So much to talk about, and I've been so inspired! Hope ya'll will here from me again soon.

xoxoxox

Starting Out With the Bible (The Milk, The Mana, and The Meat)

2024-04-14T15:12:00.160-05:00

For Sunday School basics today, we discussed 2nd Timothy 3:16-17. These verses say that "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong, and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work." So we talked about reading the bible. We talked about the different type of Bibles people have, different interpretations, different versions, different believes in the old and new testaments.

(Mine is a "New Living Translation" bible that my Aunt and Uncle got for me as an early birthday present. It connects to an app called "Filament" that if you scan the page number, it comes up with music, informational videos, animations, and documents to read that are all about that page.)

Then the Pastor said he would suggest that if someone is going to start reading the bible, he wouldn't recommend starting at Genesis, in the beginning. Maybe start with something a little easier, such as John 1, then Saint John. then the New Testament. Then once you've spent some time in the NT (don't spend too much time in the book of Revelations because that's more of a meatier chapter), then he'd suggest reading 1 Peter. Doing it this way, you slowly work your way up from the milk of the Bible to the meat of it. You start to understand it a little easier.

What did he mean by the milk and the meat? Well the "milk" of the bible is for newborn Christians. It's the stuff that helps us start to understand Christianity and how God wants us to live. It's best to start with the milk of the bible because some of the things you learn from the bible become your sword, shield, and holy armor. You wouldn't want to give a sword to a baby to play with, would you? Just as you wouldn't want to give a spiritual sword to a warrior of God to start out with, without them knowing how to wield it properly.

Then there's the "mana", which is the potatoes of the bible. It feeds you. It's good for you. It "fattens you up", you might say, with the storytelling about different people of the Bible (Noah, Moses, David, Mary, Abraham, Joseph, etc) and the important things they did.

That brings us to the "meat" of the Bible. It's the stuff that is hard to chew. It's the tough parts, like the book of Revelations. Sometimes it helps to take a second read, or to take a moment to understand what each of the verses are trying to say.

Then to understand this a little better, we read Hebrews 5:11-14, which says: "A call to Spiritual Growth: There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don't seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn't know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong."

Basically this is saying - if you've been in church for a long while, you should already be well into the meat. You should have that meat digested, and you should be now cooking up a spiritual meal for others. You should know the Bible, and the way God wants you to live, so well now that you're helping guide others on the path. But because not everyone is the same and everybody takes their spiritual journey at their own pace, you can be in church for a good long while and still just be a baby Christian if you haven't taken the time to learn the Bible. Not just read it, but learn it and understand it.

We Need a New Dryer :-\

2022-01-05T23:37:00.020-06:00

I'd say altogether, I slept about 8 PM to 5 AM, except for the times I had to get up and use the bathroom, and about 10:00 PM to 12:00 AM where I had Tricity laying at the end of the bed and we spent that time talking about all sorts of things. I miss sharing a room with her and talking about stuff all night. We used to do that all the time, but since we moved to Marble Hill, she's off in her own room, so the only time we've really been spending together is when we're watching something. It was What We Do In the Shadows, and now it's South Park. My Mom and I used to lay and talk all night like that, and I miss it, too. I'm glad I can still do it with Tricity sometimes. I hope she'll always know that she can come talk to me any time she wants to. Any of the kids, really. I hope they all know that they can come to me any time at all.

My eye wasn't hurting so bad this morning. Just a little. I think my contacts were causing strain for some reason? I got the kids up and ready for school. The day started off with Tricity breaking her glasses, and I don't have any super glue or anything that can help... so I tried using some thick packing tape in hopes that it will hold throughout the day until we can take her to an eye doctor again.

Adam didn't have to go to dialysis until 9:00, so he tried sleeping in until about 7:30 and then he got up to get ready. While he was still sleeping though, I made myself some salmon. I love salmon. I always bake it with just a bit of lemon pepper seasoning, and some salt. I learned that paying a little more for better quality salmon makes a difference, too! Sam's Club salmon versus Dollar Tree salmon makes a HUGE difference in texture, flavor, and probably nutrients, if I'm being honest.

Then I wrote down what I ate in my Fitbit app. I'm going to TRY and log my food. Usually I don't worry about it, but I want to make sure I'm getting my 90 grams of protein a day, and try it to keep my calories around 1,200 like they told me at my appointment yesterday. I also want to get out and exercise more (sans the hard labor doing stuff to renovate the house because that'll definitely be happening either way) as well. I'm probably feeling this way because of New Year's resolutions, but I'd really like to make my goal weight by the end of the year! Then I can have the excess skin removal surgery, and once I recover from that, I can get a job again. I just can't work right now because then I'll lose my Medicaid and won't be able to have my surgery paid for.

As much sleep as I got, I was still exhausted, and I slept from about 8:30 to noon! After I woke up and finally got going, I decided to watch The Biggest Loser on YouTube while cleaning. They only really have one season that someone posted (that I can find) and not even all the episodes are on it, but that show always gives me inspiration :-D haha Eventually, I'd like to find the box with the Wii in it, and play my old Biggest Loser Wii game! That's how I'd like to exercise while it's winter time. Then when we finally get another trailer to add onto this one to extend our house, I'm going to strip out the kitchen and turn it into the home gym for all my exercise equipment (I have an elliptical, stationary bike, trampoline, stair stepper, punching bag, etc.) I just have no place to put all that stuff right now, so it's out in the storage building covered with boxes.

I wasn't going to spend the day cleaning since I hadn't felt good, but their Grandma Cheryl wants to visit, and because the kids had been home for Christmas vacation, the place isn't exactly tidy right now. As much as I love having them home, it's been a little crazy, and I just wanted a few days to relax and recover first since they are back in school now. But if she's going to visit soon, I don't want it to be messy, you know? How long does it take someone's blood to replenish, anyway???

I cant wait to find out the results from my bloodwork. I'm a little nervous sine there were quite a few days where I kept forgetting to take my pills, both my medicine and my vitamins. I finally decided to do the smart thing and set alarms on my phone every 3 hours to take my pills, from the times of 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM. I have a doctor's appointment next week, and they're supposed to take my blood too, so I wonder how different the results are going to be in-between a week's time? This time I'll remember to eat first!

While I was cleaning and Adam got out of dialysis, he called and asked how many cans of beans it would take for me to make my homemade deer chili. Back during the day after Christmas, we had gotten some deer meat and other fresh meats from Judy and Al (they get their own cows and pigs butchered, and he goes hunting), so we were excited to finally have deer chili again. We hadn't had any since moving away from Perryville, because we used to get it from the food pantry. I thought we were going to wait until grocery day though, but I guess he really wanted some today! lol I said we needed 4 cans of light red kidney beans, and 4 cans of dark. He said "8 cans?!" I said "Yeah, it takes that many to make a full pot. AND a big can of tomato sauce." He said "Tomato sauce???" I said "Yeah, that's how it's made." He seemed a little offended, but as me and Khloe agreed, we're a big family, I'm a good cook, and everybody loves it so much, so it takes a lot to feed everyone and have some for seconds!

I guess the dryer isn't working right. I didn't even like it to begin with. It's one of those with the lint trap on top. It's super long, and you have to slide it up and down, but by the time you get to the top of it, the lint falls back inside. It was getting so bad that it took 5 rounds and the clothes were STILL not dry. It ended up being about 8 altogether, taking 2 days just to dry one load of clothes! I went online and looked up some of the closest rent-to-own places to see what other options there were with the kind of dryer I like with the lint trap in the front. I found one, but I'm still waiting on Adam to get me the "ok" to order it! lol

When the kids got home from school, they helped clean. They took out the trash, cleaned their bathroom, and did a few other odds and ends. When I went to take care of my birds, I noticed how beautiful the sunset is as the last of the light shines against the trees in the hill, so I got a picture of it. It's such a beautiful place out here. I'm so in love with the land! Pictures can never do it enough justice, though...

When Adam got home, he had the stuff for the chili tonight, but he also surprised us by getting some BBs for our Red Ryder BB guns that we got for Christmas. Tricity, and Devin loaded up our guns and set up some cans and bottles and stuff to shoot for a little bit. I shot one of the old pumpkins that had been sitting outside (still hasn't even rotted yet, surprisingly!), and I didn't even know if I hit it or not until I looked close. Adam said the BBs didn't even go in, that they bounced off because the guns are so weak. We mainly got them to start learning how to aim, shoot, and be responsible with guns. Yes, even me. I've never shot a real gun that I'm aware of, so I wanted to practice, too.

After I came in, I finished cleaning what I had been working on for the day, and started making the chili. It's really simple, I just cook the deer meat, add the spices (mostly consists of cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, ground red pepper, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and sugar), drain the beans and add them, add the tomato sauce, the secret ingredient, and that's pretty much it! Just adjust the seasonings to your desired taste, and it's good to go. I don't know if you can tell how much I had to make, but imagine the size of the pot in comparison to the size of the spatula.!

I wasn't going to spend the evening cooking since I needed to clean, but they really wanted it and so did I! I'm happy to be getting these special requests! Usually I ask "What do you want for dinner tonight?" And the answer is "I don't know", but the other night Adam requested my fried chicken, and my chili tonight. I must be able awesome cook! lol

While I was cooking, my head and neck started to hurt, so I took a Tylenol. I felt much better after dinner. I don't know if it's because of the Tylenol, or maybe it was actually because I needed to eat something. I've always noticed that there are 5 main things that will give you a headache.

1. You're dehydrated

2. You need to eat

3. Stress

4. Lack of sleep

5. Physical injury

After dinner, I tracked my food for the day and I ended up with over 100g of protein! I'm so glad to know that whatever I'm doing is working. But as I said, the bloodwork tests will give me the real results. After logging my dinner, I started working on my vlogs again until Adam went to bed, and then Tricity and I started watching South Park as usual here lately.

Adam decided to get back up though, and I was in the middle of holding the baby kittens. Khloe and Tricity were in here too, and we finally decided on names for them! There are 2 black ones and 2 tabby ones. One black one has a white stripe across the nose, and one of the tabbys has darker cheeks than the other (who is the one born 2 days late), so we chose these:

Black with no white stripe: Sphinx

Black with white stripe across the nose: Luna

Tabby with light cheeks: Stella

Tabby with darker cheeks: Max

We still don't know if they're boys or girls yet, but we feel like the names will fit either way. I really should write my speculations down so when they get older, I can have more experience in sexing kittens to know what's going to be what!

To my surprise, Adam actually held one! I'm not allowed to take pictures when he does cute things like this, though... but it was adorable! For someone who says they hate cats, he's not mean to them or anything; he just ignores them completely. He held Sphinx, though. It was so cute! He's actually really nice to Kuma, too, though he doesn't pet her or anything, but he lets her sleep on the back of his chair. He booped Zoozy on the nose before, too.

After we put the babies up, I continued to work on my blog, until Khloe took Lilith out to go to the bathroom again. I checked on her. She keeps licking her would. I tried looking up how I could make my own cone at home to help keep her from getting to it, but instead I got this ridiculous idea. Has anyone ever actually tried this? And if so, how did it go? Did it work? Apparently you can make them a sort-of necklace out of pieces of pool noodle, and it's supposed to act the same way as a cone? I didn't want to try it, as funny as it would have looked. I just hope she doesn't get infected or anything, and that it'll heal up well. I know there will be a nasty scar and no hair will probably grow there, but I hope it'll heal soon.

Before bed, I checked on her one more time, when I heard something drop that she was trying to eat. I saw her dive for it again, but she wasn't able to grab it this time. When I got closer, I saw what looked like a dog's tooth. Sure enough, when I opened the cage to see for sure, that's exactly what it was! Lilith lost a puppy tooth! I took it and put it up in case Khloe wanted to see, since Lilith is pretty much her dog now. Then I went to bed for the night.

I didn't go to sleep until about 3:00 AM, and I was worried about staying up so late because we had to go to Tricity's appointment tomorrow for the ear, nose, and throat doctor, but it was around that time that I decided to check Twitter. Checking Twitter and playing my Merge Magic game always helps me unwind for the night and it helps me get sleepy. Some random thought I had though when I saw an ad for clothing that looked like it was all torn up and worn out... I probably just have an old soul, but I never saw the sense in buying clothes that already look like they're torn up... Why pay a lot for trashed clothing? Even thrift stores have clothing in better shape! If you're going to pay a lot for clothes, buy something fancy, or a well tailored suit, you know? I never understood why THIS was considered fashion...

And then of course to add to my lack of sleep, I had to find cute baby goat pictures, which sent me on a search for more. WHY do I love baby goats so much? Adam's Mom Vicky has a little dwarf goat, or a pygmy goat, whichever it's called, and she's the cutest! She used to hang out with me when I was building my quail coop over there, and she would jump up on top of it like she thought she was doing something when I was taking breaks. They're just the cutest little things!!! So here are some cute baby goat pics to brighten your day :-D

Finally, I had come to the end of the night where I found a post from our local news station that said to be sure to check the webpage for the latest school closings. Sure enough, our school was on there! I knew I wasn't going to be able to receive any calls about it from our school because we don't get cell reception where we live, but I didn't think to look on the news page or the school's facebook page. Sure enough, I went to Facebook to check, and they had posted about it around 7:30 this evening. I could have known a loooot sooner... Ah, well... Feeling content knowing that tomorrow was a school day, I finally went to sleep.

I Almost Blacked Out! (Not Click Bait) and The Kids Break In!

2022-01-04T23:28:00.310-06:00

Hello! Today started with me getting the kids ready to go back to school. For their fist day back since Christmas vacation, it went pretty smoothly! And that's including the new changes, such as Tricity and Khloe taking their puppies out for a walk before school. The girls have been doing really good. I'm so happy that Khloe stepped up to take on the responsibilities for Lilith!

After the kids headed off to the bus, I organized my medicine and vitamins. I use a craft box which is good for 6 days, and I take different pills 6 times a day. It's mostly the calcium citrate that I have to take so much of. There's 400 MG per tablet, and I have to take 5 to get my 2000 MG of needed calcium. Why? I have no idea... but that's what I'm supposed to take from what I've been told.

I think part of Annie's loud barking (except when she has to go to the bathroom) is turning out to be separation anxiety from Tricity. I believe this because any time she's alone with us in the room, for the most part, she is pretty calm. However, when Tricity comes into the room for something and then leaves, Annie will start her whining. I just wish I knew how to tone her down because it's so high pitched and loud. I'd much rather she start howling than hear that loud yapping. She's cute an all, and a pretty good girl, but my ears don't feel the same way about her lol

Speaking of animals sounding annoying, does anyone else's cat constantly bellow "hello?" when they are in heat? All of our other cats don't make that sound, but any time Khloe's cats Tiger or Gray are in heat, they both call out "Hello?" and no matter how much I answer them, they keep acting like they don't hear me! lol Tiger is a big sweetheart when she's in heat, and Gray acts a little nicer than usual, but I don't know where they got this yeowling from, and it's so irritating.

So while I was looking around on Twitter today, I saw where KSI asked "What is true love?" I don't really follow KSI because he doesn't really put out content that interests me, but someone else had liked his post, so it showed up on my feed because of that. I did take the opportunity to answer his question, however, by saying "I feel it's when someone puts in the effort for you because they want to, not expecting anything in return, but you do the same for them as well. It is not a fragile thing that can easily be broken, and it's never one-sided. It's two pieces of a puzzle that just fit." What inspired this was when I watched Frozen 2 yesterday, and I heard Kristoff say "My love is not fragile." I feel like everything happens for a reason, and when things work together like this, hearing an inspiring quote about love and then someone I don't even follow asks about love, I feel like things in my life are going the way they are meant to go, and I'm on the right path.

Then while I was looking around more (I was procrastinating getting ready for my appointment because I didn't feel like getting ready lol) I came across this post from Stampy (who doesn't follow me any more, and neither does Sqaishey, but that's okay because everyone parts ways at some point) that said "Surround yourself with people who wouldn’t mention anything if they noticed you were wearing odd socks." Then Squid jokingly said "Everyone always mentions my odd socks", but that got me thinking... I disagree with that.

Why would you want someone not to tell you? Is it because you feel like you made this decision on your own, so you don't need people pointing it out, like how an overweight person doesn't need to be told they are overweight because they see themselves every day??? But what if you did it on accident, and you're the kind of person who would like to know so you can try and make sure it doesn't happen again, or maybe you didn't know and wanted to fix it? So I replied "I think I'd rather be told. I prefer honesty. It's like going around with something in your teeth. I'd rather they let me know, even if I wore odd socks on purpose, or because they were the only socks I had left. At least I'd know who to trust to keep an eye out for me."

I would totally be that person pointing it out... but I would also be the one pointing them out with a positive comment. Something along the lines of "I do like your sock combination today!" And I'd be the kind of person to get excited because I'd also be wearing odd socks.

So then I finally decided to get ready... I like to look my best when I have these appointments because as I'm feeling more confident, I want it to show on the outside as well as in. I'd say I clean up pretty good, don't you think? (Of course this filter helps! lol I love what it does to my eyes! ♥ )

First I went to my chiropractor. I usually go between seeing Dr. Crawford and Dr. Davis. I usually lay on my stomach and they start me off with electrode stimulation on my back with some heat, and they'll pop stuff for me. Usually Dr. Davis will also use "the buffer" which just vibrates my back. This time, I asked them to turn on the stimulation a little too high, so it was hurting, which you don't want for the whole 15 minutes, but when the lady came in, she turned it down for me. Then Dr. Crawford had me lay on my back, cross my arms, he put his hand behind me and had me breathe deep in and out, and when I breathe out, he pushes down and my back pops. He did this in 3 different places. Then as per my special request, he pops my neck for me. This time it made a HUGE crunching pop sound, and he said he could tell I needed it. I knew I needed it too, because when I was moving my neck around before that, it kept clicking. Have you ever had that happen? On the way out, I found out he will be getting married next week, so that was pretty sweet to hear!

After my chiropractor appointment, we had some time to spare before my surgeon appointment, so we went to Five Below. That place is nice, but if you're not careful, you can end up spending a fortune! Especially when buying Christmas presents! lol Adam ended up getting a dragon egg thing that you excavate and dig out dragon parts to make a figurine. He also got some generic lego set of a dragon. If you didn't know, dragons are his big thing. I happened to see a silk-screening kit that I wanted to try out, so I got that, and 2 magnets. One is Hello Kitty, and one that says "My Squad Calls Me Mom". And then for Tricity, I happened to see a Hatsune Miku 2022 calendar, so I picked that up for her as well!

Then we had to make a quick stop at Walmart to pick up some butter flavored oil to use in the popcorn machine that his Mom and Dad got us for Christmas, and while we were there, I snagged some white cheddar ricecakes. I can't believe the only store I've been able to find them at is all the way in Cape Girardeau! Even all those years in Perryville, they didn't carry them for at least 3 years. Crazy...

Anyway, then we went to my 6-month surgeon appointment that was today. I don't know why I was so nervous... I know he'd be happy no matter what my results come back as, as long as I was moving in the right direction. They're very supportive there. I guess it's because of my own expectations? I haven't been on my scale in about a month because it needs new batteries, so I didn't know what to expect 😬

When I went, Adam went in with me this time. They had the fish tank set up, and I hadn't noticed the fish in it. I heard they had gotten one during their Facebook livestream as part of their announcements, but when I looked in it, all I noticed were the little white things floating around. I thought maybe they were tiny shrimp? Or seamonkeys? Or some kind of little creature... But then Adam pointed out the fish to me, and I started laughing. I see where Devin and Tricity get their inability to pay attention to obvious things like that! lol X-D We also saw this poster that I liked, which said "If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit." Then I saw it was a print of Banksy, so that was pretty cool!

Anyway, they finally called me back and I got weighed. Altogether I'm 115 down from my starting weight, and about 100 down from surgery! So it wasn't as good as I wanted, but still it's great news to hear! Then the lady reminded me that they had to do my labs today, which meant taking my blood. Now, any other time I get my blood drawn, I'm usually okay with it, but this time, it did not go so well.

She had about 8 vials to collect my blood with. I noticed it was sort of a brownish red color, and she said "That means it's rich. That's good." I was happy to hear that, but about halfway through it, I started feeling antsy, like I wanted to get up and move. I readjusted in my seat. Then I started feeling very sluggish, and was looking for a way to brace myself, but kept still so I didn't mess anything up. I was getting very tired, very fast, like I was crashing. By the time she finished, right there at the end, everything had gotten foggy, and I was taking deep breaths. I slumped over onto the arm rest, and my lips felt like they were tingling and throbbing. They felt cold, and I felt like I was either going to pass out, throw up, or shit myself. To be honest, I was kind of scared about it.

She said sometimes it can happen if you haven't eaten beforehand, which I hadn't eaten at all that day yet, since I was nervous about my weigh-in. I couldn't get up because I knew I'd collapse. She asked if I'd like a protein shot to help me recover, so she poured me some chocolate protein to drink. I drank the first one, and she poured another but I said I couldn't drink it just yet. My stomach was still queasy. A couple of minutes later, I was able to finish it, and then I slowly recovered and walked over to the next room. I think if I ever had to pick a way to die, bleeding out seems pretty peaceful. I'd be passed out before it happened, just feeling life fading away...

Dr. LeGrand wasn't in the office that day, so I got to meet his secretary. Basically she went over my current medicines, and stressed to me how much I protein and liquids I need to be taking in. I'm glad Adam was there so he could hear it for himself, that I'm not just being a pain in the butt when I talk about the protein or being thirsty. We also talked a lot about poop, so it was kind of a shitty conversation X-D lol She just wanted to make sure I wasn't having any leaks in my stomach. I don't know what doctor doesn't think your poop is important hahaha Anyway, just like I thought, they said I was doing good, and I'd hear back about my lab results soon. Hopefully everything is good with those, as well.

We decided to go to the movie theater today since the kids were in school. We had both been wanting to see The Kingsman, but didn't want to take the little girls to it, and the older kids didn't want to sit through a kids movie with them, they wanted to see it too, so the best solution was to just go with me and him as a date. After all, movies are only $5 on Tuesdays at Marcus Theaters! The movie didn't start for another 50 minutes, so we ended up ordering a pepperoni pizza that they deliver to your seat, we got free popcorn (because it's Tuesday), and a drink. Adam was nice and let me get some Butterfinger Bites ice cream bits. I don't think I had ever tried them before. They were okay, but I probably won't get them again. That's what Adam said about the pizza. I thought it was okay, but he said he probably wouldn't get it again. Usually we don't get this much food when we see a movie, but since it was date night and all... This was a picture of me and some hobo. He was really sweet though, he paid for all our food! (lol jk, you know it's just Adam) :-p

As far as the movie goes, I had hoped to see my boyfriend Eggsy at least once. They sure made it look like he was going to be in it from the previews, but nope. No Taron Egerton throughout the whole thing. I still liked the movie, though. Rasputin was totally a freak, so of course he was my favorite character! I didn't know Ralph Fiennes was in it. I was totally taken by surprise to see what happened to his character's son. I said "No wonder he becomes Voldemort!" LOL! And then on his fight scenes, I said "Use your wand! I don't know why he don't just use his wand..." And then the main bad guy, I thought sounded an awful lot like David Tennant, so I was surprised when it wasn't.

It lasted longer than we thought though, so it was late before we got back home, and the kids were getting to the house right as we were leaving Cape. It took about 30 minutes to get back. Since it was so cold, we had told them to break into the house X-D lol What we said was to remove the screen because it needed to be replaced anyway, slide the window open, unlock the door, and make sure to shut it back and lock it so the cats couldn't get out. That way the kids could get warm, eat, and take care of the animals. I don't know why Tricity won't carry her spare key with her just in case things like this happen >_< I also tried to capture the sun shining in my eyes on the way home.

After getting back in town, we made a quick stop at this second-hand store called Mercantile At The Commons to take a look around since they had a grand re-opening. I thought they were a bit costly, but Adam said he thought there were some things that were a bit cheap. We might go there when it's grocery day. We'll have to see...

When we got home, I checked my birds. They had laid 3 eggs. We bought in the stuff, and for dinner, it was a "fend for yourself" night. I had reheated leftover chicken. On nights like this, the kids have pre-made burgers they like to fry up on the hotplate, or there's spaghettios, ramen, soup, they make grilled cheese sandwiches, all sorts of stuff. I was just feeling exhausted and dead tired after after they took my blood today. It didn't help that I didn't get much sleep the night before, either. I was too busy working on this blog lol

I got a nice surprise when I checked my phone, though! I had gotten a message from Allison's teacher saying "Hello, I am writing you to let you know I have picked Allison for Scholar of the quarter!!!! She always works so hard and deserves being recognized." How great is that?

After I finished dinner, I took out my contacts, and my eye started hurting SO BAD! I couldn't keep it open and it just kept leaking and hurting. And I was so cold... I just wanted to sleep. I ended up falling asleep on the couch around 7:30, and Adam woke me up and told me to go to bed, so I was in bed by 8 lol And that was pretty much the end of my night!

Two Caterpillars

2022-01-03T23:21:00.001-06:00

Today I woke up and Adam was SUPPOSED have been going to dialysis with Tricity. I found out later that he never went, but that they both still went to Perryville to do some shopping and to pick up my Mom's grocery order for her from the Walmart Pickup thingy. Anyway, when I got up, I had to go to the bathroom as usual, but the toilet paper wasn't anywhere reachable, so I had to call Khloe in to grab it for me. (Don't worry, my nightgowns are huge on me now, and I was sure to cover everything up so it looked like I was just sitting on the toilet, and nothing could be seen.) When she came in, she asked if I needed her to take Annie out to go potty, and I said yes please, because Tricity was gone with Adam. I also told her to tell Devin to get up because the dogs needed to be fed.

After I came out, Devin was just about done getting his boots on, and Khloe had brought Annie back in. Then they both headed out to feed the dogs and the pups. A few minutes later, they came back in and Khloe was holding Lilith. Apparently the other puppies had ripped a huge gash in her side, her neck, there were cuts on her belly, and her ear was torn a little. We were all pretty freaked out! That's why we had to bring Annie in, because she's the smallest, and they were picking on her, too! But Lilith was hurt a LOT worse than Annie was! And the poor girl was shaking, even though she wasn't cold.

I called Adam and asked him if we had any other kennels, and he told us where one was, so Devin went out to get it. Khloe went to switch out Annie's bowls so we could put them in the larger kennel and bring her into the living room, and the smaller one would stay in the bathroom where we could keep Lilith for now. I held her as they did this, and got blood on my arms. I hadn't seen how serious the injuries were yet until I noticed I was getting bled on. I'm not posting any pictures of it because you could see the flesh underneath and it was pretty disturbing. Anyway, we cleaned her up, got her calmed down and safely put into the spare kennel, and she seems like she's okay now! I just hope she heals up well.

I thought bringing Annie into the living room would be great because I didn't want her to get lonely or bored, but all she does is howl and whine while she's in here. I think it's because she just wants out and wants attention, but we're following dog training videos that say to introduce her slowly to the environment around her. First we started with a small kennel in the bathroom. Now it's a large kennel in the living room. Next, it's going to be freedom to roam the living room, with the other rooms blocked off, and then eventually freedom into the whole house. But how do I keep her from being so very loud???

Anyway, to try and drown her out, I decided to put on Frozen 2. I had never seen it before, Adam was gone, and I knew the girls wouldn't mind watching it again. I actually REALLY liked it. The song "The Next Right Thing", though it made me cry. I know it's Anna singing about Elsa, but the lyrics remind me of my best friend Tahnee. She's gone, and I miss her so very much, but I just keep going on no matter how sad I get, trying to be a good person and do the next right thing. "The only star that guided me was you" :-( ♥ "Just do the next right thing. Take a step, step again. It is all that I can to do, The next right thing."

After it went off, we started watching Encanto again, since Khloe hadn't seen it yet, and I really wanted to see it again (what can I say? It's an adorable movie!) But yet again, I ended up crying because of one of the songs. There's this song called "Dos Oruguitas", meaning Two Caterpillars. It's a song about two caterpillars who are together, but have to separate to go into their cocoons and become butterflies. Once again, it reminded me of my best friend Tahnee. She was my caterpillar, and she had to leave me to change into a beautiful butterfly. It was a sad, yet endearing day...

Speaking of Encanto... Tricity wanted to see this one at the theater, but we had seen that it was going to be showing on Disney+ after a few more days, so we didn't see it at that time. I DO have a favorite song other than the sad one, though. It's the song about pressure (despite the Bruno song is always in my head when I wake up these days). I like the sound of Luisa's song better than most of the others. Like I said, the movie is pretty good, and the songs are very catchy! lol

Adam came home through the middle of the movie, and by the end, it was about 4:30 so it was time for me to check my quails. I just had 2 eggs today, but one of them was so frozen that it had a split in it. I'll probably fry it up tomorrow if it's okay. That reminds me - we're out of duck eggs from Adam's Mom X-D I've really been looking forward to getting those! Especially now that I'm not sick and I can taste again! lol He surprised me today by bringing me a new bulb for the heat lamp since the other one busted the other day from all the rain. Hopefully it'll help thaw out some of the frozen straw and they will have their nice warm box again.

Strangely enough, the light on the porch was working again, but it flickers like crazy. I haven't seen it myself yet, but that's what I've been told. While the kids went out to feed the dogs again, I started making fried chicken, as per Adam's request. I guess they REALLY love it! I hope they do because it's not so easy to make. It takes quite a bit of work! But I personally have always loved fried chicken, so at least if nothing else, it's worth it to me :-D lol (Even though he DID later tell me that it's better than KFC!)

For the rest of the evening, Adam took Devin to basketball practice, we had fried chicken with macaroni and cheese, and then when Devin got home, he ate and we all went to bed. The kids go back to school tomorrow, so there wasn't much of an evening left to be had. However, sometimes when I go to bed, that doesn't mean I'm sleeping. I spent some time looking up different AI art from the "Wombo Dream" app. I tell you what - some of this stuff is terrifying! Strangely accurate, but absolutely horrifying lol X-D For example, I looked up Voldemort, but he looks like a Picasso version of Voldemort. I looked up Bellatrix Lestrange, Hermione, and Fred and George Weasley. Here they are... and after that, I finally decided to put the phone done and go to bed lol:

My Cat Kisses Me!

2022-01-02T23:29:00.019-06:00

Today, I FINALLY got to sleep in! Couldn't sleep too long though, just until noon because for one, I feel like I'm wasting the day away if I don't get up and do something productive, and two, because after so much sleep, my back starts hurting. At one point though, I remember either Tricity or Khloe telling me that it was snowing lightly, but that it wasn't sticking.

When I finally got out of bed, I did some laundry. Laundry hadn't really been done much since Christmas Eve, and the kids were about out of clothes. They're going to need everything washed for school Tuesday! I'm really going to miss them when they go back. Most parents act like they can't wait to get rid of their kids and to send them back to school, but for me, I've always been the type of parent who hopes for a snow day just so they can get one more day with me at home. Speaking of how cold it's getting outside - I tell you what! Nothing beats a freezing cold drink that has been sitting out in super low temps. It wasn't slushy, but it was right at that point, just the way I like it!

I sat around for a bit playing my game (a game called Ever Merge that I am unfortunately addicted to, even though I can't earn any money playing it any more because I played it for the maximum payable time), but then Tiger decided to love on me. Tiger is Khloe's cat, but she's in heat, and when she's in heat, she is such a sweetheart. We call her "Big Honey" because she's the biggest female cat we have and she's sweet. Here she was nuzzling me, smashing her head to mine. Here's another picture of her with Tricity yesterday. You can tell she's a fat and sassy cat X-D

Then I decided to move over to my computer to start writing my blogs for the first day of January since I want to try and write one every day (or just about every day) this year. Tricity had just taken Annie out to go potty, and when she came back in, Annie was looking so cute that I had to get a picture of her with Tric.

While I was writing, Tricity came in and showed me her thing she painted that my brother got her for Christmas. It's a laptop pillow with the table on top of it, so she can use her laptop anywhere without it burning up underneath. It was just black and white with gold on it, but it came with markers to color it in with. Instead of using those markers though, she used her new Posca pens (expensive paint pens) that we got her for Christmas. That's what she and Khloe both really wanted, so I got them each a set.

Before I knew it, it was closer to 4:30, which is about the time I always go out to the quail coop and check them. To my surprise, the coop was frozen shut today! Also, the lightbulb was blown out from all the rain. I'm going to have to find a way to keep the water out, or maybe put shingles on top of the wood. Thankfully, I read that quail can survive negative temperatures. Despite being icy cold out, they still had 3 eggs waiting on me! I unclogged their feeders and brought in the waterers to melt the ice in them before filling them back up, and when I took them back out, there was one more egg! So that was 4 eggs altogether today. Carrying them back home felt like I was carrying icecubes. It's a good thing we're not relying on them for an incubator!

I worked on my blogs some more, trying to recall everything that happened today, and I also used my memories from Facebook and Timehop to create blogs for older things that happened on these days that I didn't make journal entries for in the past. Alongside writing a blog for every day of this year, I also want to write blogs for any journal entries or memories I had from previous years that I had never documented on my blog before. I know it sounds like a lot, and it can be a big undertaking and get overwhelming, but I really want to write everything down because some day, I won't be here, and this will be like my legacy or something.

Adam made sloppy joes for dinner. I was lucky to eat all of mine. I only had one piece of bread on the bottom, as I cannot eat a whole sandwich since my surgery. Usually if Tricity asks to make me a grilled cheese any more, I can only eat half of one and have to give her the other half. To be honest, I feel like I shouldn't have had any bread at all. I should just focus on the protein. I know I'm not getting my 90 grams a day like I'm supposed to. I see the surgeon on Tuesday (the 4th), and I'm quite nervous about it all...

Tricity has been doing so good with taking Annie out to go potty! Annie had an accident here and there within the first 3 days, but since then, she has been doing an amazing job! I know it's not really Annie who is doing the good job, it's Tricity, because if it weren't for her taking her out when we tell her to, and doing her part to help train her, Annie wouldn't be doing as great as she is. It won't be long when we can let her out for a while by herself. For now, she takes her out and trains her by saying "Annie, gotta go potty?" And then when it's time to come back in, she says "Let's go in!". When I went out with her tonight (because someone has to hold the flashlight), she went pee twice, went poop, and then already knew to head back to the door. It was so cute! I'm so proud of them both!

I have to use a flashlight outside because for some reason, the porch light is acting wonky. I JUST changed it the other night on New Year's Eve, and it has already gone out. What the heck??? I think maybe because it needs a dimmable bulb, and the one I put in is one of those "daytime" lights that's supposed to mimic natural sunlight, but it doesn't dim, so maybe that's why it went out? It took me forever just to change it out, though. That's what I hate. Now how long will it be before I get to changing it again? lol

Since my stomach empties out faster because it's smaller how, I was hungry as it got later into the night. I decided to finish my hotwings from yesterday. Usually at this time of night, Tricity and I would watch South Park together since she's trying to watch all of the seasons, and I hadn't ever sat through them all in succession before. However, she wanted to get up early to go with Adam to dialysis today so she went to bed early. Since it was just me all alone tonight, I watched the New Year's special of Doctor Who (Eve of the Daleks), and then Sister Wives (S16 E07 - Choosing Kids Over Kody).

I pretty much spent the whole time cuddling with Kuma. I always love cuddling with her. I give her kisses all the time, and scratch her in all her favorite spots. We head bump each other a lot and nuzzle one another. Sometimes she just doesn't feel like being touched though and will keep to herself off in a corner. Not lately though! I don't know why she has been so attached to me the past few days, but I'm taking it all in. I swear, when she's in a loving mood like this, it sounds like she's trying to imitate my kissing sounds! She will nuzzle me and smack her lips, and it sounds like she's trying to give me a kiss! Every time I nuzzle her and headbutt her, I kiss her, and when she nuzzles me back, I swear it sounds like she's imitating what she hears, and makes kissing sounds by smacking. It's the most ADORABLE thing!

Anyway, once my shows were over, I went to bed. The last thing I could think of was about how with me being blonde now, and having been brunette before that (my natural color is brown) - the reason why I haven't changed my Minecraft skin or logo or anything to match is because eventually I want to go back to red. Eventually... I think the plan is to stay blonde for a while, then eventually do the whole "oil slick" black rainbow thing, and then go to red.

My First Day Into 2022

2022-01-01T23:53:00.046-06:00

Since I'm hoping to make a blog for every day in 2022, I'd start by talking about how I intended to sleep in today... There were no holiday activities for us to do, no more Harry Potter marathon to prepare snacks for and watch, no plans to go anywhere or do anything today... Just me, my blanket, my pillows, my Wish Bear that I got for Christmas, and my dreams.

But as usual for Christmas break, I woke up around 10:00 lol X-D I figured I would have slept in longer since it was a rainy, wet day (to which I had almost said a ret, wainy day), but my biorhythm seems to like getting up right around 10:00 AM. Here was the view from the kitchen window. You can see how dreary and wet things are, though you can't really get the full scope of how flooded the front yard is getting. (That's not even with me showing you guys how flooded the creek and run-off are! I didn't want to go out and get wet trying to get pictures of everything.)

Adam ends up taking naps during the day because he gets so exhausted from the kidney failure. It's worse on days with dialysis, but he didn't have dialysis today. While he was sleeping, I got to watch the Harry Potter 20th Reunion special! Surprisingly, it didn't stop a lot with the bad weather since we have our crappy Viasat satellite. I cried so hard by the end, though. Tears had rolled from both eyes. Harry Potter was a HUGE part of my life, from my teenage years even until now! Some of the parts that really got me were when they were talking about all those who have passed since the movies. I was especially taken by surprise by Helen McCrory, who played Narcissa Malfoy. I hadn't known she passed! Apparently earlier in the year from cancer. So sad to see Tom Felton getting emotional about it...

And then it also got me when Robbie Coltrane was talking about how people will still be watching these movies 50 years from now. They'll still be there. Not him, because he'll be dead, but Hagrid will. And then at the end when everyone was getting emotional about the last scene they shot and having to end it all. It really was an amazing part of history to still affect them that way, and us the fans, so many years later like it has. I really cannot think of any other movies where we watched the stars, who stuck it out for 10 years, grow up. These movies were magical, and not just because they were about wizards.

It was an easy day. Adam and I had planned on making hot wings today (last year our New Year's Day dinner was sky, surf, and turf) so he cut and fried the wings, and I had prepped the sauce the day before. I find that by doing it this way, it allows me to cool the sauce and easily discord the oily part in one big disc instead of having to try and spoon it out. How it works is: I usually melt about 8 sticks of butter. Then instead of taking out the ghee, I go ahead and add Frank's red hot sauce, mix it, and then spoon out the spicy ghee and toss it out. However, if I put it in the fridge overnight, it hardens while the sauce and milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan and remain a liquid. Then I toss out the hardened bit, and it's a lot more healthier this way! Not all that fat to be consumed. It was still a bit hot this time, but I added some cream and about another half stick of butter to mellow it out enough for the likes of me, who doesn't usually like hot foods.

This was my plate. Since my surgery, I can only eat about 3 or 4 at a time, so I have some to eat on later in the evening, and through the next day. It's crazy to think that I'd have eaten this whole plate of them at once before! My problem was definitely overeating. So thankful this surgery helped me have to control that since I don't have much self-control myself.

After dinner, I took a nap. I didn't mean to, but I was just so exhausted. It's been a busy and exhausting end of the year. I remember having Tricity come lay beside me until I was out. Sometimes I just need to snuggle up to her, you know? No matter how old my girl gets, she'll always be my baby. When I woke up and went back into the living room, Adam was sitting in the floor with Devin, Allison, and Jazmin, and they were all playing the game Sorry. That warmed up my heart. I love watching him interact with them. He may not be their Uncle by blood, but he'll always be the best Uncle in their hearts. I love that he's making these memories with them.

Not long after that, I had my first bubble bath of the year, using the vanilla bubble bath set that my Mom got me for Christmas. One of my biggest things I love to do since we moved into this house was to take bubble baths. Like her, I inherited a picky sense of smell, so she knew the safest bet was to get a scent that you can't go wrong with. I don't think I've really smelled a vanilla scented product that I didn't like before! lol (Knock on wood!) It had a faint smell, so it wasn't overpowering. I think she made a good choice. Thanks again Mom, if you read this! lol

Then as the evening came, me and Tricity wound down by watching South Park. She's into that now, and I didn't mind watching it in my youth. I had never seen all of the episodes though, so we're trying to get through as many seasons as we can while she's on Christmas break. (As of right now, we are on season 4). While watching, my Kuma baby wanted to cuddle with me. For some reason tonight, all she wanted to do was lay on me and love on me, which I adored of course. She is the sweetest baby! I'm so lucky I got her and that she's mine ♥ She is the most precious!

Speaking of cats and kittens, I forgot to show you guys that a couple of our new babies have their eyes open now! One of these pictures is from the other day, and one was from today. I try to hold them for a little bit every day so that they get used to me, and hopefully get attached to me. Binx doesn't seem to mind. They cry out once in a while and she gets concerned, but she hasn't really taken them or felt threatened by me holding them. Khloe and Tricity have been holding them too.

While I was getting pictures of my Kuma bear, I noticed in the background the paint samples that I have up on the wall. I've kept these paint samples up since we moved in until I'm ready to paint. That way I can see which one I like better at different times of the day, or in different light. It gives me plenty of time to pick the one that grows on me. I can't wait to get rid of these brown nicotine-stained walls!

That was pretty much it for the day. Apparently this time last year, we were under the assumption that Adam would be getting a kidney transplant this year. Since we moved, they put it on hold until he could prove that he had a stable income at our new home, but hopefully he gets put back on this year! I don't know what this year is going to bring for us, but I hope we are successful, we achieve our goals, we improve on our health, and most importantly, that we are safe and happy. I wish the same for you all as well!

Happy New Year! 2022

2022-01-01T00:37:00.078-06:00

I don't know how long I can keep this up, but as we venture out into 2022, it is my goal to try and make a blog post just about every day to record how my day went. This has always been my personal journal, after all. I remember when I used to write on LiveJournal and DeadJournal every day, and I'd like to get back to that. ♥ So with that being said:

In 2021:

I had my duodenal switch surgery

I lost over 100 pounds

We moved to a new town

We bought a house

We added a whole lot more pets to our family
I went blonde this year

We got full custody of the kids

We had a well built on our land

I accidentally killed some of my quail

We had a Harry Potter marathon

I was on the news for the 4th of July

Snootz was murdered by my in-laws' dogs

Our new cat Binx had kittens on Christmas Eve

The girls joined Girl Scouts

Devin joined the basketball team

The kids went back to school and really liked it

Me, Adam, Tricity, and Khloe got vaccinated

Starting this year with:
2 adults
5 kids
11 cats
9 dogs
6 turtles
5 quail
2 bunnies

Let's see how different things will be at the end of the year! We're hoping to have a lot more farm animals (even though some of them will probably get slaughtered before the year is up).

Here's a toast to surviving 2021!

Hopefully in 2022:

Adam will get his kidney transplant surgery

We can expand our home and add an addition so each kid has their own room

We will get some farm animals (pigs, cows, goats, birds of sorts)

We will grow a garden (try to, anyway! X-D lol)

Tricity will finish with her braces

I can start some kind of at-home business or do some craft fairs?

Maybe get me and Devin braces?

I want to finally get the fire pit made and set up

Lay concrete for the basketball hoop, pool, and bus stop

Get the playground set up for the kids

Grow my beautiful flower garden from all the bulbs I planted in 2021

Finally get a headstone made for Snootz

Finish making the signs for our homestead and welcome sign

Get some work done on renovating our house

Maybe start working on writing a novel?

Teach the kids how to make more things like jerky, butter, food canning, etc

I'll actually get my computer area set up and pay more attention to my YouTube channel!

Maybe make a return to gaming???

If I can get even half of these goals done, it'll be an awesome year for me!

Our 2021 wasn't really that bad, even though a lot of people on social media would have you believing it was a terrible year for all... The only truly bad thing that happened was our kitty Snootz getting killed, but anything else that seemed bad this year was a blessing in disguise. Nevertheless, I hope 2022 is great for EVERYONE! May everything work out on in your favor. May this be a perfect year for you and your families, with good health, good fortune, and even better memories to be made!

I know that having a great year takes time, work, sometimes patience, and often money. I've got time, plenty of patience, I'll put in the work, but money is the tough one! lol But with all that, I know I'll make 2022 a year worth meaning. As I've said before, you have to appreciate the time that is given to you. Don't take anyone, anything, any moment for granted. Only you can make yourself happy. L.I.V.E. L.I.F.E.!

Thanksgiving on the Homestead

2021-11-25T23:12:00.001-06:00

First off, I'd like to say a huge THANK YOU to anyone who follows my blog! I may not always update my YouTube channel like I want to, but I've been trying to keep this old thing updated, so I appreciate anyone who stops by for a view ♥

First of all today, I got up and we got the day started with taking care of the animals and cleaning up to make room for all the meal work. That included changing out the water filter, which meant there was still some water left in the end of the old bottle. Of course Khloe, being the goofball she is, decided to drink the rest of it, and it just looked hilarious to me, so I snapped a pic. We called it, "When you just love water soooo much!" X-D

I wanted to watch the parade like I used to do all the time when I was growing up, but of course Adam wouldn't let me. In the whole 16 years we've been together, he's never let me watch the Thanksgiving day parade, except when it was on at my Mom's or at his Mom's... Anyway, I got the turkey started first because I figured it would take the longest. I put it in the roaster on 300 to start with for the first hour, and then I was going to put it on 450 for the next 3 hours. Khloe and Devin watched me. They were very interested in it, which made me happy! I was also pretending to do a cooking video where I was setting up the turkey, and Khloe said technically in our new kitchen, I could actually do that. I said yeah, that's eventually my goal! To do cooking videos, once I get comfortable enough with my body.

As it cooks, I go and sit down, thinking - I can play online for a while and then when it gets to be 1 1/2 hours left, I'll start working on the sides! Right? So I'm playing online and I can smell the turkey cooking. It's smelling amazing. I get up and go to look out the front door, looking through the glass, and I just see Chief staring from far away.

Just staring at me. He's such a cutie! ^_^ So then I decide that since it's feeling nice outside, and I'm in my warm new Harry Potter pajamas, I'd go outside and check on the pups. I put on Adam's boots. I think it's funny that most of us in this house all wear the same shoe size! Me, Adam, and Tricity all wear the same size, and Devin and Khloe are one size under, but they're catching up fast! So here I am with my new jammies, and with Adam's boots on.

Then I check on the puppies (and Ruby), and they're doing just fine and as cute as can be! I also check on what's left of my quails. They're fine. Castiel and Chief are good. Everyone seems to be doing alright! The dogs will get their Thanksgiving dinner later, but I made sure to get this cute picture of the 4 pups all lined up ^_^ If you don't know, from left to right is Blue, Annie, Lilith, and Rowena.

Now it has been about an hour, so I turn the turkey roaster up to 450 and it is my intention to let it cook for 3 more hours, right? I could have sworn I had turkies before that took that long to cook! Anyway, I decide to check Facebook, and I see this memory for 10 years ago... 10 YEARS AGO!!! Can you believe it's been so long? Here is Tricity from 10 years ago when she was in Kindergarten doing her Thanksgiving Feast at school. Wasn't she just the cutest? ♥

After some time, the alarm goes off telling me there's 1 hour and 30 minutes left until the turkey is expected to be done. I need help cleaning some dishes so I can get the sides started, so I called for the older kids to come help. When they come in, I start explaining to them what I need, and when I look in the direction of the kitchen, there is smoke EVERYWHERE! The house was filled with it. How did I not know?! I jump up and run to the turkey and turn it off, pull back the lid, and this is what I see...

Oh no... I had burnt the turkey!!! >_< Adam tried saying it wasn't burnt, it was just Cajun style. The good thing is that it was just the skin! The inside was perfect and strange enough, it was very moist! The flavor was excellent (thanks to my prep work) and it was all cooked. Thankfully, despite it looking terrible, it tasted great! The turkey was saved! So I whipped up the sides as fast as I could, and then our feast was finally ready to be enjoyed for the next few days.

We had:

Turkey

Ham

Gravy

Green bean casserole

Corn on the cob

Salted butter for the corn

Sweet Hawaiian rolls

Cornbread stuffing

Cranberry sauce

Mac and cheese

Baked beans

Mashed potatoes

Deviled eggs

German chocolate cake

Pumpkin pie

Pecan pie

For being the first Thanksgiving since my surgery, it took me about 6 hours to get through my plate! Any other year, I'd have gotten 2 plates full and taken them with me to my seat so I didn't have to get back up, but this year, I was only able to have about a teaspoon of everything. I also ended up crying during dinner, because we went around and said what we were thankful for. When it got to be my turn, I was just so overwhelmed. I know some bad things happened this year, but there's been so much to be thankful for as well! Thankful for our home, our family, my surgery, our animals... So very much! And I made sure to stress to the kids how today is a day to realize all the good things in your life and not take them for granted. Hopefully next year there will be even more good things to be thankful for! Hopefully Adam will get his surgery, and we can fix up our home. So with that, I say Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours. Be safe, be thankful, and be full! lol

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

2021-11-23T19:40:00.008-06:00

Today we had to take Tricity to her dentist appointment and me to my chiropractor appointment, so while we were out, we went to go see Ghostbusters: Afterlife. I was NOT disappointed! I certainly did not expect to cry during a part of it, but if you watch it, let me know if you cry too! I don't believe in spoilers, but I will say - that scene with Phoebe and Egon - we all knew it was going to happen, but I got lost in the moment and forgot, so when it caught me off guard, that's why I got teary-eyed.

I don't know how else this movie could have went. It was a perfect sequel for the series (even though I've never seen the one with the women cast). I absolutely loved all the nods to the previous movies! I could have sworn that Phoebe was going to be Jenene's grandaughter though, because she looked just like her only as a kid, but she wasn't. Still pretty cool though.

I also love how it was more like HER story. I figured it would have been about her brother since he was the more famous actor from Stranger Things.

I never recognized her from the previews, but after watching it, I realized that was the same girl who played Rose on Fuller House, and had a part on Handmaid's Tale!

When I went to look up movie images, I saw that the reviews weren't so great, and I can't figure out why. I thought it was good! Or maybe they're just part of that new cancel culture generation who tend to not like anything? Either way, I thought it was really great, and I hope there will be another!

You Can Literally Taste the Rainbow!

2021-11-23T14:57:00.000-06:00

So we've been really into Christmas this year, and I think even The Grinch Adam is maybe just a little, too! He's been buying up different flavors of candy canes for us to try this year. We've gotten the standard peppermint, lemonhead, and cinnamon, but he also got ones like Dum Dums, Airheads, Starburst, Juicy Drop, Baby Bottle Pop, and my personal favorite - Skittles! I really wanted to find the Pixy Stix candy canes this year, but it seems no one is selling them this time around? Such a shame, those are a favorite that we ALL enjoy! Anyway, the Skittles candy canes are AMAZING! You can literally taste the rainbow since all 5 flavors are twisted into one! You lick one spot of the candy cane and it will taste like berries (cherry, grape) and then you lick another spot and it tastes like citrus (lemon, orange). It's awesome! And then there's the green, whatever flavor that is... but as a Skittles lover anyway, this is one of my new favorites for Christmas time! ♥

4-Legged Turkey

2021-11-23T13:07:00.001-06:00

Check out Jazmin's turkey! LOL!

I especially love the 4 legs.

In class, they also painted turkeys on paper plates, made turkey headbands, made Native American vests, and Pilgrim hats. I'm sad she's the only one who didn't get to be in a Thanksgiving Feast this year like the other kids, but at least they still did basically the same activities at this school, just without all of the classes coming together for snacks.