$4.07/Gallon

  $4.07/gallon and climbing.  Diesel.  For anyone in this area, this is reason enough to stay home.  To get cozy in the rocker and enjoy the view from the front porch.  Unfortunately, if you're from this area, your livelihood is probably dependent  upon diesel.  You have a diesel pick-up, skid steer, tractor or Peter Built.  You don't have the ability to sit in your rocker long.  Groceries and the mortgage are dependent on that beautiful liquid gold.  That gold that now costs more per gallon than the milk on your table. 
  I had a day to myself today.  It was wonderful.  I have an accountant in Weiser and today was tax day.  It went well, thanks for asking.  Actually, while driving to my appointment I found myself behind an empty beet truck.  I didn't mind it, I had a sitter.  While I sat behind that truck , I'd get  brief whiffs of diesel exhaust.  Ya, it can be over-powering and the EPA says it's bad for the environment, but it reminds me of family time.  There is something in the over-powering scent of diesel that reminds me of togetherness.  It's trips to the lake, camping, auguring fence post holes with my husband, and riding the fork lift with my dad as a kid.  That totally obnoxious, over-powering smell is a little kid excitedly grabbing flashlights, and sleeping bags.  It's a little boy riding tractor with his papa.  It's a little girl holding fence posts to build a corral for her pony.  It's a scent that represents a good hard days work, accomplishment and family togetherness.  That diesel engine is the sound that daddy's home, it's supper time and every one's together.  No, I don't recommend Yankee bottle this scent up for their latest candle, the EPA may die of heart failure.  I do cherish memories that are tied to it though. 
  I am sure the prices will go down again, they usually do.  It does make things tight until then.  I serve a God that always provides however.  A gallon of diesel may cost more than two dozen eggs.  But God has seen fit to give us chickens, so we're covered.  We'll see how this summer goes.  I know we'll be fine.  God never ceases to amaze me with His provisions.

Sunset on Third Lane

Cinnamon Roll Simmering Potpourri

Need a quick pick-me-up or have company coming last minute?  Here is a great recipe for a fresh and wonderful Porpourri.

4 cups apple cider (juice)
1 orange, cut into 1/2 inch slices
3 whole cinnamon sticks
1 T. whole cloves
1 t. ground allspice
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground nutmet

Combine all ingredients in a soup pot and bring to a boil on the stove top.  Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, adding cider as needed to keep the pot from going dry.

My Dinosaur

Dinosaurs.  He loves dinosaurs.  He plays with them, studies them and dreams about them.  For halloween a couple years ago he asked to be a dinosaur.  We found a cute little costume, not expensive but sturdy.  A brown dinosaur costume that would cover him head to toe.  It even had a hood to pull over his head, a hood that transformed him into the tough dinosaur he wanted to be. 
  It's been two years since we purchased that dinosaur costume and its still magical.  The ankles are highwaters and the sleeves are short but that doesn't stop him.  That costume transforms him from Hap Bayes to the "T-Rex" that conquers.  In fact he's sleeping in it tonight. 
  It's a wonder to me that he can sleep in that thing at all, but he manages.  He has actually managed twice a week for the past two years he's owned that suit.  Twice a week that little boy slips that costume on (hood, large (slightly limp) tail ) and slides between the sheets of his bed.  I am not sure how that tail manages him any comfort, but its still very important.  Dinosaurs have tails, and when he goes to bed, he's a dinosaur!
  I watch my little man sleep.  So peaceful, tranquil, such a gift from God. I see a large fluffy tail uncomfortably poking up from his armpit.  He's happy and I am happy.   I know they'll come a day when that costume becomes embarrassing.  He may someday throw it away, but I'll watch and plan on pulling that thing back out of the trash.  There's memories in that little dinosaur costume.  I will bag it up and hold it close to my heart.
  For now, I will sign off and join my family in dream land.  I am not sure if I'll dream of dinosaurs (they sound a little stressful to me), but I look forward to waking up.  There's a brown dinosaur that will come bounding into our room and onto our bed come morning.  I need to get rested for it.

Searching for Answers

 The sun is out.  It feels so good. Thank you God for this gift.  It is shining through the window; right onto my face.  Wonderful.  Sometimes I enjoy closing my eyes, just feeling the sun.  The sun brings promise.  It brings life.
  My tomato and pepper starts extend their leaves to the window; reaching for the sun.  They know what they need. Everything needs the sun.  There is nothing that can survive without it.  Have you ever stopped to contemplate it?  Really think about it.  The earth is perfect distance from the sun.  Any closer and the earth would burn, any farther and the earth would freeze.  It's perfect.  It seems strange that anyone would think it  an accident. 
  How could something so life-giving be placed in the sky by accident?  It's one of those things that has to happen correctly the first time.  Life is dependent on it.  Move the sun any distance, and you sabotage life.
  I look at things around me and notice the details of a grand design.  Have you ever laid down in the grass and studied it?  Look at the intricacies of everything beneath it.  It's complex.  There are many happy bugs that call it home.
  Have you ever grown a garden from seeds?  Have you watched how that little seed when given water, good soil and sunshine grows into something amazing.  One small seed creates a beautiful tomato plant, another a 100lb pumpkin and yet another an amazing flower.  They all harbor their own DNA of sorts.  They're all programmed differently.  To grow something beautiful with unique possibilities.  Is this all an accident?  Really?
  The Bombardier Beetle harbors two chemicals in its body.  When scared, it mixes those two chemicals in correct proportion and shoots fire (to detour enemies).  This beetle defies evolution.  Any incorrect chemical combinations and this beetle would self-destruct, leaving a dead beetle.  Dead beetles don't evolve.  This beetle had to get it right the first time.....it had to have been created correctly.  Created.  There was no evolving this guy.
  I do a lot of thinking. There is just no way all these amazing creations and processes happened by chance.  I took statistics in college.   Multiply the chances of the sun landing perfect distance from the earth by the chances that seeds evolved their ability to grow amazing works of art.  Multiply that by the chances that those same seeds grow life sustaining food for man.  Man, whose system is so complex scientists have yet to understand how everything works.  Multiply that by the chances that Bombardier beetles evolved despite self destruction.  Statistically it's nearly impossible.
  If the earth were a painting, could you expect it to be painted by anything less than an artist?  We all know that paintbrushes don't paint without a hand guiding them.  How could we expect the intricacies of life, the amazing intricacies, to be any different.  Really.  My statistical mind grasps the idea of creation so much easier than that of evolution.  Evolution just doesn't make sense.  Evolution also tells me I was created without a purpose.  I just happened, and grandma was a monkey.  I choose not to believe that however. 
  I was created on purpose, with a purpose.  I am loved.  I serve a God that not only created me, he created my world.  He painted a backdrop of beauty for me to enjoy.  He created YOU.  YOU carry the fingerprints of God.  YOU were created with a purpose, and YOU were created on purpose.  YOU are loved.  There is nothing accidental about your life.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;  Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
         Psalm 139: 13-16 NIV     The Bible

Our Yard on Third Lane

God and Lasagna

  I was craving lasagna and green salad.  I was also tired....tired of the sweet little flu bug and fevers.  Eight days with the flu is a long time.   I am ready to be well.  I hate being a complainer,  complainers frustrate me.  But tonight, I am weary and I am lacking.  So I guess I am (in a small way) complaining.  Ugh, I said it.
  Being sick though has enabled me to catch up on a few things, namely sleep.  Reading.  It has brought us down another road, one I rather enjoy: the slow lane.  Life has slowed down.  We've cancelled all appointments (except Tim, whom has worked all week and built fence with the flu).  I have married a seriously awesome man and I love him.
  My wonderful sister and her husband delivered groceries to our house Monday.   We are being cared for.  I am thanking God for people who care.  In the future I plan to bring more meals to people in need.... I can now empathize with them.  Meals can be such a blessing!
  Today Annie and I made an ibuprofen run to the M&W grocery store in Nyssa.  We decided to check the mail also.  It's been 4 days since we'd checked it, so I knew it'd be full.  I knew the M&W ad would be out today and secretly prayed lasagna would be on sale.  Please God, let lasagna be on sale. 
God cares about the little things.  He made that very clear when I opened our mailbox.  Yes, the M&W flyer was there, and gracing the front page was a sale..........on Stauffer's Lasagna.     God....only you.  I love you.

Thrifty Tip

"Thrifty" is always nice...espcially when money is tight.  Below are two recipes for making homemade Laundry Soap and Dishwasher Soap.  All you need is borax, baking soda, and washing soda.
 For the dishwasher: Mix borax and washing soda half and half. That's it. Just keep it in a bucket under the sink with a little scoop and fill only one side of the soap compartment. For the laundry: Mix washing soda and baking soda half and half. Again fill a bucket near your washer and use about the same amount as you normally would. Cold water is fine. Both of these recipes are mild but effective. You can find borax and washing soda in the laundry aisle of your grocery store. If you're looking for bulk quantities (which are more cost effective), try a warehouse store to stock up.

My Kids

  Its amazing to watch my children grow.  I wonder who they will become and what God has in store for their lives.  Personalities are very evident.  I see their strengths and their weaknesses.  I sometimes try and guess who and what they will become. 

  Mattie, always busy in a flurry of activity is my compassionate one.  She is my child of mercy.  I love watching her make friends.  She understands people.  Friendship and loving people come very easy to her.  She will be a loving and compassionate beacon in her world.  I am excited to see where God takes her. 

  Hap is my thinker.  He likes to stand back and watch.  He thinks about things...always thinking and evaluating.  My little man is full of thought out ideas.  Very intelligent and quick on his feet.  He's also my cuddle bug.  I wonder how God's going to use his gifts.  My little boy.

  "Little Sure Shot" Annie is my pistol.  This girl has yet to find a hurdle she can't conquer.  "I do it my BIG self" was the first phrase in her vocabulary.  She is such a joy.  I am thankful for Dr. Dobson's, The Strong Willed Child.  Standing alone and doing it without fear will be a huge asset to her when she gets older.  She will be a leader.  With God, that girl will swim oceans.

  I thank God for my children.  There was a time in my life when I didn't think I'd have any.  Tim and I wanted children, but God said, "wait".  Waiting is hard, especially when you want a baby.  It's made even more difficult when you lose a baby.  You contemplate the fairness of it all.  It's easy to fall into self-pity.  I've always struggled with the "wait" thing...I am a little like my youngest daughter I guess.   Waiting is difficult , but I'm learning beauty comes from waiting.  Some of the most beautiful things in my life happened because of the "waiting".  Waiting makes things so much more special.  It allows you to see God's handywork.  It may seem frusterating at the time, but it's "God in action".  He has a plan  (a better plan than you do).  A plan he's unfolding.  If God allowed Tim and I children when we dictated, the "Bayes Family" would be so much different than we are today.   I thank God for the waiting.

 I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.

             Psalm 40:1



 


 


   

Home isn't just a place

       or a location

It's a feeling,

       a memory,

               a sound,

                    sometimes a smell.

It can be someone you know

and the memory of their laugh.

It can be that feeling

       rising in your throat

when you hug someone

        you haven't seen in a while.

Or that sense of belonging you get

when you make

         a new acquaintance

you didn't know you missed.

Or that farmstead

           you long for.

When you're homesick

      for the farmgirl life

hang laundry outside and

     the scent will take you there.

Crochet at the end of the day,

and simple becomes

           your sanctuary.

   

   ~MaryJane Butters

Aunt Esther's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
3-1/2 oz. pkg. vanilla instant pudding
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2-1/2 c. flour
2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, mix cookies and bake for 9-10 minutes.  Enjoy.

Lessons from the Coop

  Today my daughters' chick died.  It was actually the second of our chicks that we've lost, and I know we'll  lose more.  I initially thought they were struggling with "vent pasting" (a constipation brought on by stress/immature gut), but I am not sure now.  We have another sick chick that doesn't have the "poo" problem.  I am praying we dont lose him, or any others.  I am disappointed.  These chicks are a special project; a "chocolate egg" breed that lays dark brown eggs.  We have high hopes for them. :) 
  I know they are just chicks, but they are very loved by my kiddos...and I guess by me as well.   They have collectively become our babies, and Mattie calls herself the "chicken mama"...we are a little bit hillbilly. :)
  Its funny I feel tenderness for a four inch ball of fuzz, but I do...and I am rooting for them.  I know death is a part of life.  We have lost animals in the past, and have explained death to the kids.  Little ones so unashamedly convey feelings of sadness.  It can be hard watching them grieve.  Some life lessons are harder learned than others.
    Hap's Awana lesson last week addressed heaven (what the Bible says about it).  After today, the timing seems pretty appropriate.   In preparing for Awana last week, I explained the need for salvation. That we are sinners.  We are all sinners.  God is perfect and there is no sin in Him. Because we're sinners, God can't be with us, God and sin cannot mix.  Because the removal of sin requires a sacrifice, God led His only son, Jesus to the cross as THAT sacrifice.  He allowed HIS little boy to die, in our place.  God loves us that much.   The Bible states that if we want to be with God, to go to heaven, we have to accept THAT sacrifice, ask for forgiveness of our sins and begin a relationship with Him.  God raised Jesus from the dead three days after the cross, and He is alive and waiting for us. I explained to the kids that there is a hell also.  That hell is not a joke, and if people do not accept Jesus as that sacrifice, they will go there.  It's not funny, but very serious.
  After that discussion we talked a little more about heaven.  There will be no more tears.  No more pain.  Heaven will be perfect.   I know my kids, in their finite little minds, imagine an endless Carl's Jr. playground (one with Jesus mind you).   I doubt Carl's Jr. restraunts will be in heaven, but those feelings of excitement will be.
   I found myself contemplating heaven also.  What will it really be like?  I know my Savior will be there, and I honestly can't wait to see Him.   The little arms of a miscarried child also await me.  Heaven will be more than I can imagine.  My finite mind feels love.  It smells fresh brewed coffee, wood smoke on a cold day and fresh bread baking in the oven.  My heart feels the euphoria of a "first crush" and of holding my babies in my arms for the first time.  I know God gives these small finite pleasures as glimpses into future feelings. I can only imagine.
  Well, I need to sign off.....All this from a chicken. :)  Blessings can come from small tragedies, and big ones too. We have to remember who our God is, and just how big He is.  He has a plan, and He's in control.  He's already read the last chapter of the book.  NOTHING surprises him. 

 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
~Romans 3:23
 The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
~Romans 6:23 
 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
  ~John 3:16
Jesus answered,  "I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."
  ~John 14:6

Morning

  Thank you Lord for morning.  I  thank you for stillness...for simplicity....for solitude.  Morning, when the day is still beginning, and sleeping children are wrapped in quilts. When coffee is brewing, and I have quiet time to spend with you. Thank you for suspending time for that brief period; refilling my soul and reminding me who I am in you.  Morning.....Yes, Papa, thank you for morning.

In the Morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

Psalm 5:3

Another Tuesday on Our Lane

Okay, its snowing outside.  I look at my little "in house" garden and say, "hum"....But you know, it really is beautiful.  The ground is white, big snow flakes gently fall from the sky.  It's peaceful...and beautiful.  My garden won't be hindered by it, it will melt and tomorrow no one will know it was there (and my garden is still in my house...lol).  I guess you could call this is a winter bonus. 
  Our chicks are moving outside today.  In a way I am sad.  They've been in the house for a week, and we have grown attached to them.  Unfortuantely Plinko, Minko, Clinko, Chinco and Stinko, etc have become a little "stinko" in the house and are bothering Hap's asthma.  Tim built an awsome brooder for them, they have their heat lamp, water and food, but they will be a ways from the house.  The barn seems really far away.  I know they will be fine.  I guess all chicks have to gain their wings at some point....lol
  Schooling is going very well this week.  I am so excited.  The lights are turning on!  The kids are getting it!!  You don't know what that does for me.  Their successes are so precious....some of them have been a long time in the making.  I am so proud of the kids.  I am falling in love with homeschooling.  Last year at this time I would not have said the same thing.  I had NO inclination to homeschool.  I guess I struggle with my confidence a little, and felt I would fail as a teacher.  God is so good though....He had other plans.  The little private school we were to enroll Mattie closed their doors.   Our only other option, as we didn't feel public school would work, was homeschooling.  I admit I was afraid...of failure more than anything.  I drug my heels and did a lot of praying.  In a way, I am glad I was afraid....I  have had to hold tight to God.  2 Corinthians 12:9 has become my life verse. (... "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.") 
 As I see lights turning on inside my kids, as reading gets easier, and numbers and equations take on meaning I know in my heart I was made to teach them.  I am their teacher; another "duh" moment maybe. :)  I love being with them...though we do have our difficult days...and days THEY wish they had a different teacher.  I love introducing them to God's creations; watching their faces when they see something new....when they learn something cool, when they "get it".  I also enjoy learning along with them....you might be surprised what you learn when you teach.  I know God doesn't call all to homeschool, but I am so glad we were. 
 Well, I need to sign off, Mattie and I need to go move our chicks and dance in the snow while it's here.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
             2 Corinthians 12:9

Small Town: Just Reminiscing.......

   
  I was raised in a small town.  Technically we weren't even incorporated...but we had a post-office.... once...a few years before we moved there...  Tamarack ID, population of 12 (five of whom were my immediate family).  Tamarack, Idaho (Adams Co....NOT the resort, they stole the name from us :) , home of a lumber mill, a main employer in the county.  We lived in employee housing, I think alot of  Adams, Co. kids were raised in employee housing...whether for the mill or for the local logging company. 
  My father was the kiln operator and supervised the "dry end" of the mill.  We lived on the plant and I have many memories of "milling" with my dad.  There aren't too many lumber "brats" anymore, but I was one of them.  I remember riding the fork lift around with my dad, testing moisture content in the lumber bunks and sitting outside smelling the fresh cut wood.  Lumber milling is nearly a lost art form.  I was so blessed to have been raised the way I was.
  I bussed to school in New Meadows, graduated in a class of 17 (and yes, it was public school).  Growing up "small town",  we knew everyone!  It seemed everyone was almost family....I don't think I will ever let go of that...whether I want to or not.  Our class of 17 still chats on facebook, and probably will until we grow old.
  Growing up in the mountains of West Central Idaho provided for an amazing childhood.  We had a million acres (or it seemed) of wooded playground in our backyard.  We hiked, picked huckleberries, mushrooms, wild flowers and swam in the Weiser river.  Summers were amazing there.....  Our parents turned us loose and didn't worry .  We would hike all day by ourselves, and return for supper.  Many Janette Oke books were consumed in a tree fort while wearing a homemade prairie dress and black boots...(I am glad no one knew, though no one would be surprised).
  The summer Driver's Ed. instructor taught us all to drive on one of two paved highways through the county.  To practice "passing" we had our various mothers pull in front of the drivers ed car, so we could then pass them.  Completing our drivers ed class did not require freeway driving, or lane changes, as there was only one lane...and the nearest freeway was a hundred miles away.
  We all learned to swim in one of two hotsprings in the county...or the local river.  We all cheered for the eight football players on our eight-man football team (who cares if we never won) :) The kindergarden kiddos attended the same school as did our senior high students....and we all ate in the same cafeteria.
  Life wasn't always a bowl of cherries, but it was pretty sweet.   I pray my children have the fond memories of childhood that I do.  I pray that as a parent now, I can help make those special memories for them....or at least sew my girls some prairie dresses and pass down my Janette Oke books.
           Just reminiscing.........
 
  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
                     James 1:17

Yantis Ditch, New Meadows ID

New Additions!

Our chicken coupe has today grown by thirty feet.  Eleven Black Copper Marans, two Welsummers and two more Rhode Island Reds.  The kids have been given the job of naming them.  We didn't really introduce them to the flock, yet....they've become the center piece of our kitchen floor.  A good old-fashion card board box and a wonderful heat lamp.  The sweet sound of baby birds filling the house.  Spring really is coming!

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones. 
Proverbs 15:30

Our Day

Today was a good day.  We took Mattie to the doctor for some tummy problems she's been having, but he feels we can control them with diet, not to worry.  Hap spent sometime working with his papa today.  He's becoming the age now that his time with daddy is more important.  He has such admiration for his daddy.  He wants to build fence just like him when he gets older.  :)  Annie went with Mattie and I to the doctor's appointment.  She is so funny and has such a will of iron...bless her little heart.  As Mattie was being examined, Annie had to check out the doctor's computer.  She didn't touch anything but watched very intently.  She wrapped herself around the doctor's finger.  When we left, the doctor hollered, "Good-bye Goober" to which she replied, "Good Bye Goobers!!!" as she turned and waved to all the staff.  Needless to say everyone laughed...to Annie's complete satisfaction.  My little Miss Personality!

Thoughts of the Day

     I made a small discovery the other day.  I was studying my Bible in Genesis.  I have read the creation story quite a few times, but never picked up a small detail.  In my years of being a Christian I have known God loves me, and has extended me grace.  He sent his Son to die for me.  In the back of the mind however I have held onto to a picture.  A picture of an iron fisted God throwing Adam and Eve out of the garden....I am not sure why I held on to that picture, but it's always been there, truthfully...shrouding out some of the love and grace God has extended to me.
  Recently while I was studying Genesis again, I noticed something I have never read before.  After Adam and Eve ate of the fruit (of knowledge of good and evil), God discovered and clothed them.  In Genesis 3:22&23 it states, "And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.  He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever."  So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.
  I read that and had to read it again and again, I don't know why because it makes sense.  My "ah-hah" moment....or maybe "duh" moment.  Yes, God removed them from the garden, but not with an iron fist.  He did it out of LOVE.  Because the tree of life was still in the garden and they still had access to it, they could still eat from it.  If they ate from it, they would live forever in their current state...in separation from God.  God could not allow that to happen, He LOVED them....and had mercy on them......so He removed them (so they couldn't further hurt themselves) from the garden.  He did not "throw" them out, He led them out as a Father would his son.   Hebrews 13:8 says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever.  The loving God that allowed his son to die on the cross for me was the same loving God that lead Adam and Eve out of the garden.  It's funny how little things, imperceptions can cloud your view of the "big" picture...I never realized how much my previous view of the "garden" affected my understanding and ability to grasp God's grace.