Hello February

Just seems like it was just Christmas, and then bam January was a whole other year and now here we are in February with Saint Valentines just around the corner. 

Our weather has sure been moody, one day we may experience complete Spring like weather, and the very next ... reminding you that it still very much Winter.. Brrr.

I have been a busy gal, revamping the inside of the Little Red House with some fresh paint..since my efforts to complete the outdoor painting was thwarted by Old Man Winter!

 

 

             In Other news our very own Ms Hambone gave birth to 8 piglets.. 

 

 

 

So precious 

and so stinking cute..

(sadly 2 have since passed but so far 6 are doing well.) 

Most Heartfelt Condolences

I just wanted to take a moment to express my most sincere condolences to those whose loved ones they lost during the air crash of Flight 5342 and the Blackhawk..

Oh how my heart aches for them…

May we all be reminded of how precious life is and how precious our loved ones are.. and may the LoRd of our peace, bring comfort to them during this time of confusion, despair, loss and grief..

Winter Wishes

Its Officially Winter Time in my neck of the plains.

Woke up yesterday morning with Snow Kisses straight from Heaven.

It was such a beautiful sight to see and did wonders for our soul.

It was most assuredly Welcome at our place.

 

I used to be very much a hard core Autumn loving gal, with Spring at a close 2nd followed by Winter and lastly Summer.. But I am wanting to challenge that thinking this year and learn to embrace each and every season and the unique beauty they bring for their time.. 

And its going to start with WINTER...

 

WINTER AFTER ALL IS..

Snuggles on the Couch

Soft Fuzzy Blankets on Our Laps

Hot Cocoa n Whipped Creme on Top 

Warm Brown Sugar Oatmeal Mornings

Hot Soup Soup to Fill the Bellies

Knitted Mittens and Beanies 

 

The more of life that I can just accept as it is,

 and not what I expect or demand it to be(with in reason) 

the better off I know it will be when life gives you its chaos and stability.

Like my 2025 Hopes n Dreams in my previous post..

I have some other wish lists to address as well.. and that is 

 

The Homey Do's

All the Hopes and Dreams and Well Intentions I/We have for our Home this year:

Continue working through what was made a GOAL for 2024

~Declutter the Unnecessary

~Re Organize What is 

Whats New For 2025

~Paint The Kids Room a New Colour

~Paint the Little Room a New Colour

~Refresh the Hall Bathroom

~Refresh the Kitchen

 

Aside from any hiccups that may arise: I think these are pretty doable intentions that can be accomplished inside the H♥me this Winter.

What About You?

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHOUT IT OUT! 2025 IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT☺

Hip Hip Hooray for 2025

Boy do I l♥ve the start of a New Year..

 A Fresh Start to New Hopes, Dreams and all the In between. 

Celebrated Christmas this year with 3 of my 6 Children.

Of course some dont have a choice.. 

ha ha ☺they are 5 & 3.

My eldest son lives in a town over, so it is but a few min away.

My eldest daughter & her little family live in NY

At the beginning of 2024 the Eldest Kiddo whom I adopted, turned of age and returned back to NY to his H♥me family. Which we knew would happen and always supported that decision for him, we continue to wish him well. The youngest of the two I adopted, has not been in the home due to reasons I wont share.. and therefor he is currently away and in a place to help him with his ongoing struggles. I do talk with him on a almost weekly basis, and do visit at least 1 a month. We continue to hope for him where he is at.

But now that 2024 and all its respective troubles, tantrums and shenanigans are over.. its time to sit down and write out all the Hopes & Dreams that 2025 Can Bring. If anything these past several years have taught me, it is.. Change is inevitable at times.. but dont let the change be from a result of being or feeling jaded about life..due to the choices of others.

Make the most of everyday.

Redeem the time for it is fleeting.

Live each moment with purpose.. 

 

FRIENDS,

With the LoRds Blessings, That is what I intend to do for my 2025 year.

Take back what the enemy stole.

♦ FAITH ♦

   ^{I desire nothing more than to return back to my first love, to My loving Father, who has been nothing but constant even when I have not been.. Everything about the past several years has been very very challenging.. My faith in the LoRd never caused me to doubt.. I just at times wanted to take hold of the reins and lead the charge.. I know that is not HIS WAY..} 

^{1: Take on the Challenge to read the Scriptures once again Front To Back( I have not done this in many years now)}

^{2: Be Intentional when I promise someone I will pray for them or a need}

^{3: Work on shunning gossip I may directly or indirectly find myself partaking in.} 

 

 

 ^FAMILY

 

Return to The Simple & Humble Beginnings Of What Made Our Little Family So Special by Remembering Always, That This Time with Little Ones is fleeting.. 

1: Have a Better Understanding between Home Maker and Home Keeper and implement the better half of that!

2: Celebrate more of the Little Stuff

3: Saying Yes to More Intentional Playing With My Kids

 

$$$FINANCES$$$

 

1: Dave Ramsey Baby Steps

2: Make it a more mindful spending year..

I know some folks are taking on a  No Spend  2025 Challenge and only purchasing the bare necessities but that doesnt seem realistic for us at this time.. Our Spending Challenge is mainly going to be spending with Purpose than on whim and later regret.

3: Being better mindful to making sure I/We dont chase $ like its a idol 

 

♠FITNESS♠

                                             This sums up my Fitness Goals For the Year.. 

So! 

Got any New Year New You Type Mantras Happening For Yourself This 2025 Year?

Care To Share?

HaPpY New Year’s Everyone

May You Grow in FAITH, PEACE, LOVE, PROSPERITY this 2025 New Year.

Naughty Nice Im Trying

  Oh Boy has it been a HOT minute since I last posted.. Wow Wow Wow.. 16 months have passed since I last made an entry,and in those 16 months alot has continued to happen in our family as shared from past entries .. Good, Bad and very Straight Up Ugly.. and truth be told, it has taken its toll on me, but because I dont want this first post back a gloom and doom one... I will wait to share maybe for another time... Because right now we are 4 days away from CHRISTMAS !!!

                                                R U READY? 

 I am as ready as I am ever going to be..

       This year, instead of going all out crazy with the decorating, and doing all the things... I am dialing it back again.. about a notch or two, maybe even three ☻and focusing on the simplicity of slowing it down. 

                    One thing that I did say YES to was participating in our small congregation's Christmas Cantata n Nativity.. I am so glad I did.. My little ones got to dress up and be apart of something special. 

Normally, Once December hits, its  Hot Drinking Time for me, and I get the Hot Cocoa Bar done up, with all the cute mugs, mixes and fixens.Not this year.. I only managed to set out but a couple cute mugs and those mugs were ones I had only been recently gifted by our Ladies Ministry..lol.. I didnt even have to dig through the Christmas Tubs.. So I guess thats a Win.. ha ha

It was only 2 days ago I even mustered up the energy to make a large batch of homemade Hot Cocoa Mix..  I am glad I did, the kids have enjoyed sipping Hot Cocoa in their pj n robes on the porch..

The Memory of this is something I hope lingers within them for a long time.

 

We may not be totally 

"Decking The Halls" 

let alone

 "Rocking Around The Christmas Tree"

.

But we got it up 

and its made our hearts a little warmer...

=

Another WIN for the Team 😃

Which leads me to say...

 

I dont know what your Christmas Season has been looking like, but if its been a little hum drum.. Know that its ok, to not do all the things..

Sometimes we can get wrapped up in the festivity and lose sight of the True Meaning..

Dialing Things Back, maybe a season or two.. Maybe just what you need to "Reset"

& Return life a little bit back to a Season of Rest and Simplicity. That Is OK BY ME

 

Until Next Time..

 

I wish you Peace, Love and Blessings..

 

Jeannie

                   

  

Prayers for Hawaii

                 My ♥ and Prayers go out to the people of Lahaina Maui, 

               as well as everyone else affected in Hawaii by the recent fires.

 

 

Rolling Tides

 

                            It seems we all drift from time to time in things.. Our seasons of life may be gentle and serene and other times tempestuous and rocky. The past several years I have felt more of the tidal waves knocking me down than that of solid footing on the ground. I have found my mind forgetful, and my heart weary with the conflicting emotions I have inside, despite where I may be. 

     When asked if one is  ok, dare not say because in truth for the most part people dont want to hear the nitty gritty of how someone is feeling,its makes alot of folks uncomfortable..and maybe its because they cant fix it.and if you ever experienced emotional abuse of being told for many years that "you shouldnt feel that way" to " Your feelings are your problem,You Need to Fix Them" or even sharing them only to have what ever grievances you share be turned around on you.. You just learn to say with the universally accepted "Im Ok". Then gosh forbid you have a blow up moment down the road and people around you act shocked. 

Just as ocean tides roll  onto the beach changing the landscape of it, smoothing rocks, scattering the sand in different directions.. the tides of life can have a way of changing a person and the perceptions of that persons life. Some changes can be good and necessary and other times its not and leaves jagged edges on a persons soul.  

 

 

 

America The Beautiful

 

                       O beautiful for spacious skies,
                                    For amber waves of grain,
                                   For purple mountain majesties
                                       Above the fruited plain!
                                          America! America!
                                  God shed His grace on thee,
                             And crown thy good with brotherhood
                                     From sea to shining sea....

                       **************************************************

 I hope each and everyone of you had a wonderful and safe 4th of July. Our family has had so much going on this past year that our festivities didnt take us anywhere except to our own back porch.  Here are but a few random Patriotic decorations I put out this year, to help get us all in the Spiriting Mood and festivities.

                                       Our Hall Bathroom: I enjoyed how the small Pitcher

                                                                   and Star Fish, gave the 

                                                                reality of Sea to Shining Sea theme.

 

                                               Even the Hutch helped boost in the Spirit of Things.

 

                                        I decorate this little tree year round for the Seasons and Traditions. 

              Then it was time for the Light Show: Our little Town here in Southern Oklahoma, tries really hard to put on a great show.. everything about it is privately funded by those of us who are able to donate. No matter how big or small the donation is, it goes towards bringing FUN to EVERYONE.

                 This year we just walked up the hill and watched it from our Barn, and when the Town was done, my eldest son lit what he had left over from years past. Baby G enjoyed it so much she asked me the next morning if we were watching Fireworks again, to which I replied.. "Yep, Next Year." 

 

                 So as we all went about celebrating the greatest breakup ever in History, thanks to our Founding Fathers.. I also want to take this moment to remind everyone the wise words of the late and great President Abraham Lincoln and President Ronald Reagan
. His words are very fitting for today and the unfortunate state of our Country in the present, and what will be our demise if we dont start Repenting, and Turning this Nation back to a TRUE NATION UNDER GOD..(the God of Abraham, Issac and David).

 

 I pray for the peace of this nation and the peoples that are in it, I pray that each of our hearts will be softened to the LoRds will on how we should be conducting ourselves unto one another, and that our Leaders no matter the political party will be mindful of every citizens that they have been privileged to govern over. I pray for a return to the Old Ways.. so that our Nation can Prosper for my Children's Children and many more Generations to come.

My Little Curly Q's

In a blog that has since been unrecoverable, I had a post on the curly q's of our Baby G and how cute they were a top of her then little head. Today I am typing on the fact that we dont just have 1 child with swirls of sweetness, but TWO kiddos with curls!

But I will back it up to the best of my ability on what I do remember regarding Baby G's hair raising post.

When Baby G was born she had a light downy of hair coloured in red, and upon further inspection you would see swirls. Those swirls eventually grew into curls once her hair finally began to come in and cover her round little cherub head. 

 

 Its been a learning curve on how to keep them swirly do's ... well swirly! They frizz so easily when she sleeps on them and often times wakes up looking like Albert Einstein... Hair all wild and in a mess. I continue to learn the proper caring and "feeding" if you will of curly hair, for instance I dont wash her hair but now 2 times a week and I make sure I am using gentle baby shampoo.. and when I dry her hair after Tub Tub Time as we say in our household..I make sure to gently squeeze with the towel and not jostle the hair, then I apply coconut oil to her scalp and ends.. especially since we have hard well water and it makes our hair and skin a little more susceptible to drying out. So far its been helping.

 So having one child on the homestead with cute ringlets of curls, just wasnt enough.. Nope the LoRd would have it, that we needed 2 babies with swirly do's! Thats right when my husband and I had our second together, little did we know when Tater Tots hair would actually grow in to notice a difference, he too would have them same little curly q's as his sister. 

The same hair care rules apply to him, wash maybe twice a week, gentle squeeze drying and lather the coconut oil to preserve those strawberry blonde locks of his.

As I look at how much my two youngest stand out with their curls, I think on the fact how interesting genetics really is. I mean you have here two adult parents with straight hair, My husbands is brownish with red in his beard ect, I on the other hand, growing up had very strawberry blonde hair and as I have grown older it has become more of a darker red, would think maybe our children would have straight hair.. and either one of our hair colourings. But if you go outside our little molecule family you will see that really, Greg and I are the Odd ones of our individual respective families. Gregs brother and a majority of his family are curly, my side is the same as well. So it was really just a guesstimate that our kids had a 70% chance of having Curly or wavy hair than lets say a 30% straight, since curly/wavy runs dominate in the family genes. Hair colour could have been the same.. but I like to think that the LoRd answered a prayer when I prayed for (at least when I was pregnant with Baby G) one little red head, with big beautiful eyes.. And he granted me that.. and it appears Double Blessed.. For I have TWO strawberry blondes with big beautiful blue eyes. 

Irish Blessings

  Top of the Mornin' to ya'll

 Did you bounce out of bed and dance a little jig like a leprechaun to get your morning going?

  Or did you like me, slide out of bed and hit the coffee pot? 

Regardless  Its a beautiful day to wake up and be Irish, or even pretend you are!

So you better make sure you are wearing GREEN, as not to get pinched. 

  So tell the Truth, How Irish are you?

a teaspoon? A tablespoon, half cup or more? 

I cant say I am fully from Ireland, I also have British and Scandinavian blood in me. 

Regardless of the amount of your green veins, isnt it fun to enjoy the day and partake in the festivities it brings?

  For me, I make the modern typical Irish Supper.. Corned Beef and Cabbage... Mmmm

and when my older two children were much younger, we would watch the Veggie Tales Story on how Saint Patrick's Day came to be..

Now obviously through the centuries and years..and somewhere lost in translations.. we traded the Truth for a bit of folklore and fantasy, and its how we now ended up with a day of drunkenness, and shenanigans with pots of gold promised at the end of a rainbow.. 

 

 BUT ...Like did you know Saint Patrick.. he was not Irish at all?! He was actually British who had been taken captive by Irish Pirates and brought to Ireland to be a slave..sometime in the years since being captured he was able to escape and return to his beloved home country. While back in Britain he came to know the LoRd more strongly, and during his time of growing in his Faith, he felt the LoRd beckon on his heart to forgive the people who had taken him captive and return to them and preach the Good News and teach them Forgiveness. So he listened, returned to Ireland.. and became a missionary. 

       Which is pretty neat in my book.. What do you think?

Well my friends from across the fence, my little Lassie and Laddie are awake and I must once again tend to my homestead. I shall leave you with this Irish Blessing. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Valentines Day

                                 

     

 I can definitely say that Vintage Valentine Cards are quite adorable and cute..

 but nothing speaks to the heart directly than that of a H♥me Made Valentine.

Our Little Spunky Farmgirl making her daddy a cute 

Valentine with the sticks she found in the yard.

Lets STICK Together Valentine 

 

Love Doesnt Have To Be Complicated♥♥♥