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Saturday, July 14, 2012

Pinto Bean...

We found the perfect addition to our family.  Meet Pinto Bean... Yes Emily has a unique taste in doggy names.  She says, "We have Paco Taco Enchilada Horn and Pinto Bean Tortilla Horn... Put them together and they make a burrito." Haha.  We still miss our little Guido and we will never forget her.  Little Pinto has helped ease the sadness.  We're blessed to have her.





Sunday, July 08, 2012

From My Broken Heart...

When I was a young child I had the ugliest black mutt name Crocket.  I loved this dog.  My mom would never let him come in the house because he was stinky and dirty.  He would follow me all over town as I rode my bike here and there.  He would wait for me at the pool and the library.  He was the best.  One day he just disappeared.  I used to sit and imagine I could see him off in the distance and he'd run into my arms and we'd be together again but that never happened.  My heart was broken that he had gone away... but over time my heart healed...

When I lived in Las Vegas, Nevada I had this awesome dog named Skippy.  She wasn't quite the mutt Crocket was but she wasn't a special breed.  I used to strap on my roller blades and put a leash on Skippy and she would haul me all over the neighborhood.  That was so much fun.  We moved to Pahrump and during my early teen years I was quite rebellious and ran away from home late one night.  Unbeknownst to me... Skippy tried to follow me and I never saw her again.  My heart was broken that I had lost such a friend... but my heart healed...

When I lived in Louisburg, Missouri we had a wonderful black lab named Duchess.  She was amazing.  She lived to fetch.  She would chase anything, a rock, ball stick.... She would even dive into the water to retrieve whatever you threw for her.  One afternoon while target practicing my brother and his friend accidentally shot her.  She just came out of nowhere right as they were shooting their target.  Once again I was so sad... but my heart healed...

A few years ago my lovely sister Misty gifted us with a beautiful little dappled dachshund we named Guido.  She was absolutely the sweetest little dog you've ever seen.  She was a perfect friend for our other dachshund Paco.  She had the most beautiful big blue eyes and she was a special friend for my daughter Emily.  That little dog would burrow under the covers with her at night.  They were two peas in a pod...

Thursday afternoon we left the house to go to the library and the post office.  We took both our little doggies and put them outside on their leashes to have some bathroom time while we were gone.  We left about 3:00pm and came home about 3:30pm.  I hollered for the kids to let the dogs in as I was getting out of the car and I heard my son Logan ask, "What is wrong with Guido??? She's just laying there..."  I panicked... Instantly I thought "heat stroke."  It has been unbelievably hot the last few days.  Both of our dogs leashes are in an area where they have access to shade, water and their dog houses.  Guido's leash had wrapped itself around a tuft of grass and she was in the sun.  She was such a small dog that she wasn't strong enough to pull the loop off the grass it was caught on.

As I ran up to Guido the leash wrapped around the grass was the first thing I noticed.  I looked at her and she was laying there, her eyes were open and her tongue was hanging out.  I bent down and took her collar off and ran my hand down her side to see if she was breathing.  She moved so I snatched her up and ran inside.  She began to jerk around in my arms as I put her into the bathtub to get some cold water on her.  I was rubbing her and crying and begging God to please not let this little dog die.  All I could think about was my daughter I had to save this dog for my daughter.  I kept yelling for Emily to get out of the bathroom because I just didn't want her to see Guido like this.  I tried for about 5 minutes to breathe into Guido's mouth, rub her... I didn't know what to do... I just wanted her to live.  Finally I realized she was gone.  I sat there and just cried.  My kids were all crying too.

As I sat holding Guido I noticed she had what appeared to be fresh bruises all down her left side.  At this point there was a knock on our door and poor Bobby Heard from the parks department showed up to deliver my council packet.  The kids and I were all crying and I came to the door holding my dead dog... just crying and telling him how sorry I was that we were all worked up right then... and asking him if he knew anything about dogs??? But she was already passed.... There was nothing we could do.

I felt awful thinking Guido could have died of heat stroke but I also couldn't imagine that it could happen so quickly.  I got online and began to look up the signs of heat stroke and what happens when a dog suffers from it.  I even called the vet and described her bruises and what had happened.  The vet and the information I found online say she did not die from heat stroke and the bruises on her side were troubling me.

After many phone calls to anyone I could think of that might know something about dogs we ruled out heat stroke.  We suspect someone did something to our little Guido to cause her death.  She was not near the road and you would have had to pull a car practically into my back yard to run her over... and she would have been bleeding from that I would think...  It's possible someone walking by may have kicked her but I can't fathom why someone would do such a thing.  We will never know what happened.

So now I go back and forth in my mind wishing I had left our dogs inside when we left home.  Feeling guilty that maybe it was heat stroke... and feeling sorrow for my daughter whose lost her best friend.  Our other dog Paco is a lost soul as well.  He wanders from room to room looking for his Guido and she is gone.  My heart is broken.  I'm praying for it to heal.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...  A time to be born and a time to die... a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted...  A time to kill and a time to heal... a time to break down and a time to build up...  A time to weep and a time to laugh... a time to mourn and a time to dance...

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Parable of the minivan...

Who are you?

Picture a city street on a hot summer day.  The pavement is scorching hot, traffic is heavy.  Suddenly you hear tires screeching and people screaming.  From the sounds and panic you witness you can only assume there’s been an accident.  It happened up ahead of you and you did not witness exactly what took place.  You rush to the scene.  As you arrive you witness a group of bystanders on the sidewalk.  You assume it is safe to stand in this crowd to gather information about the scene in front of you.  What you see is a sight to behold...  A minivan with a family of four is overturned in the road.  You see people gathered around the vehicle… they appear to be trying to lift it… Their faces are strained from the effort. 

“What’s going on?” you question those standing nearby.  From all the voices sharing information at once you gather that a speeding car ran the red light and struck the minivan so hard it flipped and now rests there in the road.

Still confused you ask another question.  “Why are those people in the road trying to lift the van?”  More than one person try’s to answer you at once.  It is hard to gain a solid understanding of what they’re saying as they all try to speak at the same time.  You come to the conclusion that the people in the road believe a small child is being crushed by the van.  The bystanders are unsure of this but one of the people in the road says they witnessed the accident and is trying to persuade others to help lift the van.  The bystanders on the sidewalk are unconvinced.  Some say,  “it’s hot… I’m too tired.”  Some are busy taking pictures to post on Facebook.  Some are complaining that they’re being made to stay to give a police statement since they witnessed the accident.  You ask one of them if they also saw a child being crushed by this van.  The response you get is horrifying.  “Yes that is true but there’s nothing you can do about it… It’s too late to save the child and if it weren’t it would take too many people to lift that van.  It can’t be done…”

You start to step out into the road to answer the calls for help from those who are lifting with all their might.  Another person grabs your arm and distracts you with talk of there being no child under there…  “Don’t get your clothes dirty, the police can take care of it… it’s their job not yours.”  This sounds enticing… it is very hot… the work does look very tiring…  Besides some say there is no child under there… Maybe they’re right.

What will you do?

The child pinned under the car is our country.  The United States of America!
The van is our government crushing the life out of our country, out of the people.
The people in the road trying to lift the van are registered votes actively trying to make a difference.
Those standing on the sidewalk are all the rest… the ones who say one vote doesn’t matter… the one’s who don’t believe they can make a difference…

Do you want to live free?  Why don’t you vote?  Do you want to stop the socialist agenda of making everyone equally poor?  Why don’t you vote?  Do you want to preserve a country that is a place where your children can pursue their dreams?  WHY DON’T YOU VOTE? 

Social Services offices register their “clients” to vote.  Millions of people cast their vote based on who is going to keep “giving” to them free what you and I work to earn.  Take it back! Take it back with your vote.  One vote DOES make a difference! One vote cancels out one from the other side.  Please consider this and register to vote and then get out and vote.  PLEASE join us in the road.

Friday, June 01, 2012

"Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days." Ecclesiastes 11:1

"We must not expect to see an immediate reward for all the good we do; nor must we always confine our efforts to places and persons which seem likely to yield us a recompense for our labors.  The Egyptian casts his seed upon the waters of the Nile, where it might seem a sheer waste of corn.  But in due time the flood subsides, the rice or other grain sinks into the fertile mud, and rapidly a harvest is produced.  Let us today do good to the unthankful and the evil.  Let us teach the careless and the obstinate.  Unlikely waters may cover hopeful soil.  Nowhere shall our labor be in vain in the Lord.

It is ours to cast our bread upon the waters; it remains with God to fulfill the promise, "Thou shalt find it."  He will not let His promise fail.  His good word which we have spoken shall live, shall be found, shall be found by us.  Perhaps not just yet, but some day we shall reap what we have sown.  We must exercise our patience; for perhaps the Lord may exercise it.  "After many days," says the Scripture, and in many instances those days run into months and years, and yet the Word stands true.  God's promise will keep; let us mind that we keep the precept, and keep it this day."

~Charles H. Spurgeon

I was encouraged by these words.  The Lord has given me work to do and I'm so very glad to roll up my sleeves and work!  It feels good to be useful and to know that one day God will give the increase and I will be part of His harvest.  :)  Look around... there's lots or work to be done.  Jump in and help.

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Guilty Guido...

I walked by my sweet daughters bedroom door this evening and thought it was odd that she would chain her dog up in her bedroom.  







Upon further investigation I discovered this...  Emily explained to me that she had set the chair there, outside her window... so that Guido could see inside when she was outside...







Have you ever seen a guiltier face?...










Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Dallas County Missouri Special Election April 3, 2012 Results

Dallas County Emergency 9-1-1 at Large
Vote for 1
Jason Wendlandt 540
David Beltz 648
Write In 21

Dallas County Emergency 9-1-1 Northern
Vote for 1
Kathy Kesler-Strawsma 266
Barbara Elliott 299
Write In 15

Dallas County Emergency 9-1-1 Southern
Vote For 1
Lee Proctor 245
Brandon Kenall 228
James Salaki 107
Write In 8

Dallas County R-1 School District
Vote for 2
Leroy Laudenbach 297
John Maddux 485
Sonya Austin 284
Lesia Hessee 121
Wade Blake 350
Shannon Nicodemus 212
Write In 12
Write In 2

City of Buffalo Ward One Alderman
Vote for 1
James George 79
Kristie Horn 105
Write In 1

City of Buffalo Ward Two Alderman
Vote for 1
Jess Stafford 98
Write In 7

City of Buffalo Ward Three Alderman
Vote for 1
Larry Hicks 58
Write In 2

City of Urbana For Mayor
Vote for 1
Stephen R. Dyson 46
Donn Lancaster 8
Jamie L. Duncan 41
Write In 0

City of Urbana Alderman
Vote for 2
Phyllis Hood 49
Ronald A. Grice 47
Debra Jo Garrison Glass 32
Write In 15
Write In 1

Ozarks Technical Board of Trustees
Vote for 2
Greg Delong 2
Larry Snyder 2
Larry C. Gates 0
Write In 0
Write In 1

City of Buffalo Sales Tax Question
Vote for 1
Yes 208
No 187

Fair Grove Bond Election
Vote for 1
Yes 95
No 39

Monday, April 02, 2012

Chicken Tractor Built From Recycled Materials

I have to brag on my hubby. Today I mentioned that I would really like to build a small chicken tractor for our growing baby chicks. They badly want to be outside during the day but they're babies and we're afraid they're going to get too close to the dog or wander off. SO... right after dinner my Christopher took 55 minutes and built the part that I couldn't do on my own. I still need to enclose it in chicken wire, which will be my project tomorrow. Chris is going to put some wheels from an old baby carriage on it for me when I get the wire in place. I will take more pictures when it's finished. The wood used to build it is just scrap lumber from a house tear down. It's warped but I think he did a great job of making it as straight as possible. He even built our little chickies a roost :) Thank you Chris!!!


The Beginning :)

Chris putting in the braces... These are important ;) Or at least that's what I'm told.

Almost finished

Now I can wrap it in chicken wire and then Chris will attach some old baby carriage wheels to it so I can move it around easily. :) Our chickies are going to have so much fun playing outside now!!!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Dallas County Missouri GOP Republican Caucus March 17th 2012

I was pretty disappointed in the political process today. This was my first time attending a Caucus. I must say the Missouri GOP Republican Caucus in Dallas County was not all inclusive. A handful of "in the know" were ready and prepared with a slate of nominee's that were pushed through with no discussion. The requests from the audience were ignored and by the time those not "in the know" realized what was going on it was too late to do anything about it. I disagree that the average voter should have to attend monthly GOP Party meetings to be able to have their vote counted. As a voter I attended the Caucus today to have my voice count in voting on delegates to represent me. That's the whole point of a Caucus. There were many voters today who are average citizens that were cut out of the process by the few more active GOP Party members. The message seems to be your vote counts IF.... So now I'll add another task to my "to do" list. Time to start attending GOP monthly meetings....






Here is a link to an article written by another voter who had the same frustrating experience at this Caucus... Click Here

Monday, March 05, 2012

Doomsday Ready or Not? What Are You Trusting In???

This morning I watched a news segment on NBC "Doomsday Preppers Ready For The Worst." I'm not completely freaked out about "the end of the world as we know it" but I am trying to prepare. I know how to grow a garden and preserve food. I still haven't mastered the art of raising enough food to provide for the needs of our family of 6, but I'm learning. I've also decided it might be wise to invest in some re-usable canning lids. I'm learning how to save my own seeds from the produce I raise. We even have some back yard chickens.

In the news segment people were stocking up 3 years supplies of food. They were prepared for nuclear war and other natural disasters. Gas masks, medical supplies and SPAM were main staples in their garage stock piles. Some people were stocking up on guns and ammunition to protect their stock piles when the doomsday arrives. One of the homes looked like it was in a subdivision with neighbors homes only 10 feet away... Good luck protecting your stock pile...

So if doomsday came today, tomorrow or in two months am I ready??? I don't have a stock pile of canned food, guns and ammo, water supply, medical equipment.... I'm not afraid. I am ready. "My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus' blood and righteousness." I know where my soul will reside when I die. I don't think there is anything wrong with the desire to prepare for uncertain times BUT if that is what you're trusting in please rethink your strategy. Thieves will come and steal what you have. When lawlessness abounds there will be no 911 to call for protection. I want to survive but inevitably we all shall die. Even if it's in peace and comfort at some point everyone dies. Put your trust in the one who gives eternal life.

Save your spam and can your jam but first put your faith in the Great I AM.

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)
"The wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from God] (Romans 6:23).
"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me'" (John 14:6)
"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12)
"By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9)

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Cream of Mushroom Soup Canning

Mushrooms are on sale at ALDI's .79 for an 8 oz package. I've taken advantage of this awesome deal to try my hand at making some Cream of Mushroom Soup. I googled a recipe and dug out the pressure cooker and have about 20 pints of soup from the 8 packages of mushrooms and extra ingredients we used. This has been super easy and I can't wait to see how it tastes in some casseroles in the future :) I would like to have some home made chicken or beef stock on hand in the future so I don't have to use stuff with preservatives the next time I can soup.

The best part of the whole day has been finding Emily's (my daughter) two library books stashed away in my pressure cooker. Apparently the last time we used the cooker (around April or May) we brought our stash of UNO cards and her books home inside the cooker and I just put it away on the shelf until today. We've looked everywhere for those books and thankfully now can return them and pay a small fine... :p


Chicken Stock & Mushrooms Cookin'



Bottled Cream of Mushroom Soup Before Pressure Canning


The finished product :)

I pressure cooked this soup at 10 lbs of pressure for 40 minutes.
The recipe is...
1 lb of mushrooms chopped or sliced
2 quarts of meat stock
2 TB of salt
1 tsp of lemon juice
3/4 cup of flour
1/3 cup of butter

Chop the mushrooms and cook with the butter until brown.
Mix part of lemon stock with flour into a paste
Add all ingredients together and bring to a boil


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