Linda @ Linda’s Lunacy

Saturday on the Farm

April 10, 2010 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

We had good weather for most of the week. Warm and sunny. We did have rain one day. Which was a good thing as our county is under a burn ban.

I went for a walk around the yard yesterday, and took pictures of some of the plants.

The raspberries are leafing out.

The hostas and the wild roses are growing. Unfortunately, so are the weeds.

The red bud and the dog wood trees are blooming. Ours are a little behind other nearby areas. We are down in a little valley, also known as a “holler”.

This crazy rooster of ours thought he found a new enemy. We brought home a new to use dresser with mirror. D set the mirror on the porch, and we found the rooster trying to attack the other rooster in the mirror. I’m surprised he didn’t break the mirror, he was hitting it so hard.

Look what I found on the porch Monday morning? Sugar had 4 kittens.

Here they are on Friday. They lined themselves up that we.

All in all, it was a good week on the farm. We have a lot of work to do this week, mainly the gardens. And trying to keep the goat kids from escaping their pen. Well, we can try!

Until next week…..

Friday Follow

April 9, 2010 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

It’s time for Friday Follow!

Ultimate Blog Party 2010

April 9, 2010 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Hi, I’m Linda, thanks for stopping by to visit me. I’ve heard a lot about the Ultimate Blog Party 2010, and I’m excited to join.

I am a Christian, a wife, a stay at home, homeschooling mom. I’ve been married for 28 years, and our children are 23, 22, 15, 14, 11, and 9. Yep, God has blessed us with 6 children. He kept things even, 3 boys and 3 girls.

We have been homeschooling since 1991, when our oldest started Kindergarten. By the time our youngest graduates, we will have been homeschooling for 27 years. That’s a long time!

Our family works in the clothes ministry at our church. Which means we sort through all the clothing donations, keep the shelves at our church’s Outreach Center stocked, as well as having clothes giveaways. We fill the tables in the fellowship hall with clothes and invite the community to come in and get free clothes. God has blessed us by allowing us to do this work.

I love blogging, and meeting new bloggers. In my sidebar are ways to follow me. Let me know if you follow me, and I’ll follow you back!

The Ultimate Blog Party 2010 is giving away lots and lots of great prizes!

My Prize Picks….

Of course, I want to be entered in the Grand Prize Drawing for a laptop from 5 Minutes For Mom

The Top Three….

63 – One lucky winner will receive a Razor® Rip Rider™ 360
Provided by: Busy Mommy Media

104 – Shoot Me Now is giving away one $50 Visa Vanilla Gift Card.
Provided by: Shoot Me Now!

USC 8 – $55 E-Gift Card for Amazon.com Gift code will be emailed to the winner and can be used for purchases from Amazon.com.
Provided by: Kelly’s Lucky You

And the Rest of My Prize Picks:

31, 37, 52, 61, 70, 72, 73, 74, 87, 88, 105, USC8, USC25, USC35, USC36, USC37, USC39, USC40, USC44

But, really, I would be thrilled with any prize that I won. They are all great prizes!

Home Beyond The Sun – A Movie Review

April 8, 2010 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

In Home Beyond The Sun, Jenna, a college student, travels to China to teach English in a boys academy.

Jenna was abandoned by her mother at birth and adopted when she was 2. Her adoptive parents are now dead.

While in China, she meets a group of girls from an orphanage for castaway girls. One little girl, Chu Lee, captures her heart.

In the opening scenes, when Chu Lee was born, her mother was running away with her, so the authorities wouldn’t take her baby away. While she was running, they shot her. The baby was saved, because of the Bible her mother had carried. The bullet lodged in the Bible, and didn’t reach the baby. The Chief of Police takes the Bible with the bullet in it and keeps it on his desk.

Jenna would like to adopt Chu Lee, but she is only a college student. Her Godfather, who is a Pastor and helps parents find kids to adopt, helps find parents for Chu Lee. But due to a series of events, Jenna can not get the adoption papers signed in China.

Jenna ends up getting arrested because of her Bible, and told by the Chief of Police to leave the country in 6 hours or end up in prison. Jenna decides she can’t leave China without Chu Lee. In her attempt to rescue Chu Lee, they both get arrested outside the orphanage. The Chief of Police has them put in his car.

He then takes Jenna to the airport, so she can leave the country, where he talks to her and Chu Lee.

“I’ve arrested a lot of Christians, but the night her mother died, something changed. For 8 years I’ve been reading this Bible. It’s words have led me to a new life, a new faith. I have believed in secret for a long time, now it’s time to live like a Christian”

He signs the adoption papers so Chu Lee can leave the country and go to her adoptive parents in the United States. Upon returning home, Jenna finds her birth parents.

I won’t tell you who they are. You’ll have to watch the movie. 🙂

Home Beyond The Sun is inspired by a true story. Sometimes its hard for our kids to understand that you can get arrested just for having a Bible in China. If you want to give your kids an idea of what it’s like for Christians in China, have them watch this movie. My whole family loved this movie, myself, my husband, and the kids, boy 14, girl 13, girl 11, and boy 9.

We have watched a few movies by Pure Flix on Christian television. We get several Christian television channels on our Glorystar Satellite. Every movie that we have watched has been fantastic. Quality movies with a good Christian message for the whole family. I highly recommend Pure Flix movies, our whole family loves them.

While your here, don’t forget to enter this weeks giveaway!

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this movie for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products of services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” I received no other compensation for this review. This review is my own opinion.

Works For Me Wednesday – Forgetful Edition

April 7, 2010 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

It’s Theme Week on Works For Me Wednesday! The Greatest Tips Edition …

Here’s the Linda’s Lunacy I’m Getting Old And Forgetful Edition……..

I have a hard time remembering store card passwords after I register them online. This little tip makes it easy for me to remember.

I like to write myself holiday reminder notes This is actually a necessity. I was working at church last night, and I told my husband that I wish I had brought some paper so I could think. lol

Which is why I also keep a telephone log. This is helpful for the entire family. Everyone knows where to look for phone messages.

Writing stuff down is very important!

But what do I do with all those notes? I put them in binders that I use to keep my computer desk organized. I’m still working on training the family to put all their papers in their binders. But our desk is much neater.

I hope my tips on how I ease my forgetfulness helps you!

For more Works For Me Wednesday tips, visit We Are THAT Family.

While your here, don’t forget to enter this weeks giveaway!

Apple Oatmeal Bars

April 6, 2010 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Even though I’ve had this recipe for a long time, I made these for the first time last week. They were delicious. The kids all loved them. I served them as a snack, but some of us ate some for breakfast the next morning.

This recipe is handwritten in my recipe binder, with no notes, so I have no idea where I got this at.

Apple Oatmeal Bars

1 cup oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 cups chopped apples
1/2 cup sugar

Combine first 5 ingredients and put half into an 8×8″ pan. Layer apples and sugar. Crumble remaining mixture on top. Bake for 35 minutes at 350.

This was a super simple recipe to make. I used apples that I had canned from our own apples. You could use whole wheat flour, instead of white, and a little honey, if you don’t want to use sugar. I used white sugar, but I think it would be great with brown sugar, also.

For more Tempt My Tummy Tuesday recipes, visit Blessed With Grace

While your here, don’t forget to enter this weeks giveaway!

Cooking and Freezing Dried Beans

April 6, 2010 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I love eating beans. I love them on salads as well as in recipes. Soups, rice dishes, Mexican dishes, just about anything.

My family will even eat them, yep, even the kids.

If I have to cook beans every time I want to serve them, it just doesn’t happen. Beans are so good for you, that I do like to serve them. But if I don’t have them prepared and ready to use, I just don’t use them. So I cook and freeze them now.

I prefer to use the over night soak for the beans. I have used the quick soak that is listed on the dried bean bags, where you bring them to a boil. Then let them sit for an hour, rinse, and then cook. If I decide to do a bean cooking session in the morning, instead of the night before, I will use this method.

Some people also like to cook the beans in the crockpot. They turn out nice that way also.

To freeze, I measure out the amount I want in each freezer bag. I freeze beans in 2 cup and 4 cup bags. 2 cups is a good amount for us for using in salads, or for some recipes. I use the 4 cup bags for making chili.

I like to make a lot of beans at one time.

I usually keep Great Northern, Kidney, and Pinto beans on hand in the freezer. I have found that in most recipes, you can use whatever beans you have on hand. I have even made refried beans with kidney beans. No one said a word about the different beans, and I liked the flavor.

I have also found that in recipes using ground meat, I can use more beans, and less meat, and no one notices. Since beans are cheap and nutritious, using more beans and less meat is a healthy alternative. For you and for your grocery budget.

For more Kitchen Tip Tuesday tips, visit Tammy’s Recipes
Eat More Beans at Homestead Revival

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