The Cottage on the Hill

Hubby and I decided to go ahead and order our garden plants and seeds anyway. We haven't heard from his potential job yet and we figured it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Besides, if we do have to move and put our house on the market, perhaps it'll help bump up it's sell-ability. I hope my elderberries survived the winter. I bought "We Help Mommy" on ebay. :)

We already have quite a collection of books for the children. The collection includes many beloved "Little Golden Books." Two of my personal favorites are Little Mommy by Sharon Kane and We Help Daddy by Mini Stein and Illustrated by Eloise Wilkin. The Little Mommy book I bought for my daughter for Christmas. It is so charming and sweet and reminds me that motherhood is exactly what I spent my childhood dreaming about. I'm living my dream. I grew up to be exactly what I wanted to be, a mommy. Winter does afford me some free time. I can't travel as much and there's no gardening, yard work or canning to occupy my time. I've begun a sewing marathon. My daughter's 18th century frock is almost completed. I've also started reading books again. I'm finishing up a book I started in 2007! After that, I really need to discipline myself to read Well-Trained Mind.

I'm in prayer for a new computer. This one is so old and diseased and slow, it's such a time waster! Besides, it's not even mine. It was supposed to be a short-term loan that went on and on and on. It's an old network computer that sometimes still thinks it is hooked up to a network. I would love a laptop. We live in a small house, so the smaller the computer the better. The local radio station advertises a website where you can apply for a free laptop. I'm leary of it because, crazy or not, I feel like if I get one of these free laptops, it'll have some sort of government scan chip in it to spy on me. Maybe I'm looney, but maybe I'm not! Tee hee. So tell me...which states have considered separating from the Obama-run United States and want to return to the Constitution? I want to get on board and move to this "Jesus Land" or whatever they're going to call it this new nation. Frankly, if we had secession even during the Bush admin...

In this past Sunday's paper, there was an article about a local family that lives as self-sustaining as they possibly can right now. They have 50 acres of land and grow their own food, including fish ponds. They harvest their own timber, live in an environmentally-friendly house, cloth diaper, etc. They hope to live "off the grid" in the coming years. The article intrigued me. I have always been drawn to a more self-sufficient lifestyle. Frankly, it drives me crazy to spend so much money on groceries. I keep thinking, "I could grow/raise this!" I do, to a point, and expand upon it every year. I made bread today out of animal grade wheat from the farm next door to me. It was delicious. Why should I pay nearly $5.00 a bag of wheat flour when I get get a 50 pound bag of wheat berries for much cheaper at the feed mill and grind it myself!? Cottage Living magazine is no longer being published. I'm being reimbursed by the company and am now looking for a...

We're moving forward. It is amazing how quickly life goes on. We're at peace because we know our baby is taken care of. So, we focus on the blessings we have here and now and move forward. One of our forward steps is health and weight loss. We're both joining forces and losing those few pounds we have. Starting just yesterday, I resumed my morning exercises. Of course, still recovering physically, I did mostly upper body and seating or laying down exercises. I only worked my upper abs rather than all of my abs. Today, I feel better and worked just a little harder at my routine. I still had to take it easy. Jumping hurts and so do lower ab work-outs, so I kept it simple and flowing. While still touching the topic of miscarriage, I want to give some advice to those who might have someone close to them miscarry some day. (Thanks to all the ladies who left me beautiful prayers and comforting words to me through this blog.) The experts give a list of things not to s...

I'm recovering from my 3rd miscarriage and 2nd emergency D&C in 2 years. I'm wiped out. Thank God for His grace and that my baby is with his siblings and with Christ Jesus in Heaven.

Oh, what a "blah" month this is! It snows several times a week. It's cloudy most of the time. And now we're facing an arctic cold snap with sub-zero wind chills. I'm beating the blahs by eating healthfully, exercising every morning (even if it's just marching in place while I watch the 6 am news), playing with the kiddos and going through the house with a fine tooth comb. On to preggy news...I had a miscarriage scare last Friday. The bleeding was only spotty and stopped and by Saturday and Sunday I had stronger morning sickness and greater fatigue. However, today I don't feel pregnant, so now I'm back on the "am I going to miscarry" road. Only time will tell.

First of all, hubby is now on the list. So, all we have to do is wait for a phone call and hopefully that call will come in soon. The house we were looking at was taken off the market. The owner decided not to sell. I was disappointed at first and begged the realtor to talk to the owner, but now I feel a sense of relief. That house would have needed a LOT and I mean a LOT of work. The realtor directed us to a house that just went on the market. It's a cute little cottage (small, like the one we're living in now, but with 3 bedrooms instead of 2) on more land than the previous house. This little cottage is in perfect condition. It's nearly $20,000.00 more, but like I said, it's in mint condition. So, we're keeping an eye on that one. The main thing is for hubby to get this job and for us to trust that the Lord will sell our little cottage quickly and for a good price. We've already had people say we probably won't sell it because the market stinks, ...

Hubby got a hold of the foreman who wants to hire him down south and the gentleman is so eager to get hubby on his crew. There are a few more road blocks for hubby to get past. It's a huge company, so it's not as simple as the foreman liking you and hiring you. There's other stuff to go through, first. But, it's nice to be another step closer to a final answer.

but I like the quirkiness of things that can be seen as omens. Here we are wondering whether or not we're going to be able to (or have to) move from New York State to Virginia. Along comes to my blog a lovely lady only a couple years younger than me, due to have a baby only 5 weeks before me, and who lives in Virginia...about an hour from where hubby and I are looking at a house! The other day, I get a little postcard in the mail from one of my favorite magazines, Cottage Living. They've informed me that the magazine is no longer going to be published and that the remainder of my subscription will be filled by Southern Living! I know neither are indicators as to whether or not we're moving, but it is neat the way things kind of add up and fall into place at times.

Hubby and I are in limbo while we wait to hear from the foreman who might hire him. I'm also waiting to hear from the real estate agent who's selling the house we're interested in. Limbo can be really difficult. I'm doing my best not to get impatient and have decided to just go ahead with the things I've been wanting to do. Any home improvement project, after all, will only add to the value of the house if we sell and move. If not, we'll have a nicer home to enjoy here. If we don't move, hubby and I are up against another wall. It's just so expensive to live here that we won't be able to afford to second storey on the house even if we did most of it ourselves. It'll take quite the mustard seed of faith to figure out how to fit our growing family in such a small home. I have a few ideas. One is turn the enclosed porch into a bunk room. I don't like this idea because it is too easily accessed from the outdoors. Bad people could break i...

I've met two other women online who are due this summer just like me! Babies!! I'm so glad my online gals are excited for me. It's rather sad that those around me here aren't. It's not that they're not happy. Rather than the cheers and hugs I received after announcing my pregnancy with Baby Girl, I get, "Oh." Just a simple, "Oh." It's gotten so bad that I don't even want to tell anyone else I'm pregnant, especially a certain person who only days before I found out I am pregnant told me she hoped God would hold off pregnancy for me. I guess I just don't understand, especially in the Christian community, the neutral to negative attitudes towards pregnancy and babies. I'll admit, I wasn't aiming for pregnancy this early after giving birth, but every since we started "breeding re-enactors" hubby and I knew we'd take what we were given, when we were given them with such joy and thanksgiving. I received...

Hubby and I are so relieved! I have nausea! Things are looking up for this pregnancy! I'm also convinced that I'm having a boy. All signs point that way. As I go through my first trimester, I'll let you know how I feel because I'm fairly convinced that taking dietary measures are helping me feel better. I cut way back on refined sugars and white flour. I've cut back on carbs and eat loads of proteins (eggs, cheese, nuts, etc). I'm eating more veggies. I'm drinking kombucha, raw milk, and Bulk Herb Store's Pregnancy Tea. I'm taking a multi-vitamin, B6, Cod Liver Oil, and Folic Acid. My typical breakfast is two eggs, fruit and nuts. Lunch is usually a salad topped with feta cheese and cashews. Dinner is balanced. There are many benefits to Bulk Herb Store's Pregnancy Tea, but one unexpected benefit for me is that it quenches my unquenchable pregnancy thirst. I drink plenty of water when I'm pregnant, but I always have an unquenchable ...

I'm not one to leave Christmas decorations up past the New Year. When Christmas is over, it's over. So, down came the decorations and out went the tree in record time. I got everything neatly packed away, taped up and labeled just in case we move. If we don't, at least I'm all the more organized for next year. I did lots of cleaning and organizing today. I had to be creative with my exercise program, so I put in the new Sugarland cd and danced with the kiddos for 1/2 an hour. It feels good to see the house so "open" again. While I enjoyed the coziness of the garlands and the tree and all the little twinkly lights, it's always nice to take everything down. It makes the house look lighter and brighter. In preggy news, I'm still not sick nor am I feeling pregnant in any way. That's not good news. I'm not going to the doctor because they can't do anything anyway. In my second miscarriage, at 8 weeks an ultrasound showed the baby's...

Hubby and I agree that if he does secure a job southwards and we secure a house, then we're going to ask my little brother if he would like to come live with us and search for a better job for himself. *note to my sister---don't say anything yet to him!* Even though we're still in limbo and nothing is definate, I've started a box of stuff that'll go towards our moving sale. If everything falls through, at least I'll have a really great garage sale in 2009! I'm 6 weeks preggers and still no sign of morning sickness. While that's not completely alarming, the fact that I really don't feel pregnant is. I know it is early, but with my viable pregnancies, I was already feeling pregnant and sick by now. With my pregnancies that ended in miscarriage, I didn't feel pregnant and, in fact, felt great! I feel great, which isn't good. I've been through 2 miscarriages before. While they sadden me, I am comforted by the Lord and in knowing that m...

I had made so many plans and had so many dreams for 2009 and the coming years. They've all changed. I'm not upset. I'm just taken aback. Everything I scratched down in notebooks and in my mind needs to be tossed out and room made for even bigger plans. Right now, we're in limbo. We have to wait until after the first of the year. Candy, I think it would be so cool to be neighbors with you! However, hubby doesn't have a job possibility in Oklahoma, though he does in North Carolina. We just have to see if the company will hire him. The foreman wants hubby to work for him, but it's up the company. The company is a union company. Even though hubby is already in the same union, sometimes they have ridiculous and impossible hoops to jump through. One thing I am looking forward to if we do move is the massive cleaning and decluttering that'll go on while packing. Oh, and I have chosen a house already and we hope it's still on the market if hubby does g...

Hubby and I are seriously looking into moving out of the state we live in. In fact, many middle class, average American taxpayers are leaving this state. We're heavily taxed. Jobs aren't that great. The schools are horrible. Our politicians are massively corrupt and are planning on adding more taxes, fees, restrictions, regulations, etc. They don't strip away our personal freedoms outright....they just tax, fee and regulate them so much, we can't afford them! Moving is going to break my mother's heart. It is going to break mine as well. I love where we live. I'm surrounded by family I can see at any given moment. I have love, support, help and prayers at a moment's notice from people I trust whole-heartedly. Yet, at the same time I'm excited at the prospect of moving. The state hubby might have a job offer in has a VERY affordable housing market. We can get a 3-4 bedroom farmhouse on 2-5 acres of land for LESS than what we paid for our tiny 2-bedroom cot...

Yep, only 6 months post-partum, and I'm preggers! Hubby and I are happy, of course. I'm saying it's a boy. The only problem is I'm having very few symptoms, which in the past meant miscarriages for me. So, it's a one-day-at-a-time deal. I'm also wondering if my vast reduction in carbs, particularly refined ones, and my consumption of Vitamin B6-rich raw milk and my daily glass of kombucha are warding off symptoms. Only time will tell. I was sicker with my daughter than with my son, so that's an indicator that I'm having a boy.

Yep, we're not just snowed in, we're iced in! Thankfully, our power didn't go out and I had a blast plowing the driveway with hubby's 4-wheeler! Everything is all crystal-sparkly! I'd take the kiddos for a walk in the woods, but it's too dangerous. While plowing, several branches fell. When they pop off the trees while covered in ice, it sounds like a gun-shot going off. I didn't flinch the first time because I thought it was a gun-shot. (You know you're a country-gal when gun-shots don't bother you!) I've had people come up to me and tell me they can't believe I do my errands with my two children in tow. I don't think much of it. They're hardly apart from me! When the pediatrician asked if my daughter has separation anxiety, I couldn't answer because we're not apart. (When we are apart, she's with someone she's very familiar with, like Grandma or Daddy.) I'm just used to it. Sometimes, it is difficult...

It looks like I'm going to be snowed in for a couple of days. Of course, I don't mind at all. I'm looking forward to it! We already have our Christmas decorations up....except for our tree. That'll go up Saturday! The house looks so comforting when all the indoor Christmas lights are on. We just got word that our town is looking to heavily restrict and regulate the use of outdoor wood boilers. We have one and under the proposed regulations, the town would have the power to make us turn it off and get rid of it, if they so choose. We're attending a public hearing on the issue soon. Not only is this giving the local government too much power, but their reasons behind it are totally ridiculous. They say the environmental impact of these boilers is too heavy. Since when is burning wood an environmental hazzard!! God regulated nature itself to burn wood! Man has been burning wood since Adam and Eve needed it after eviction from the garden. They say it's the...