Storing Grains

I recently heard the shocking news that you will be on the list for being a potential terrorist if you have more than seven days worth of food stored. So I guess that makes us Pantry Terrorists.   God Bless America! 
That's crazy, right?  (Vote for Ron Paul!)  It's also crazy to have any LESS than seven days stored up! All through history, humans and animals have stored up the harvest.  It's common sense. You can't even buy wheat in a bag that lasts less than seven days, unless you're feeding an army.  And I'm trying to feed a small army.
I've already told you about my grain mill, which I dearly love.  I grind wheat almost every day so I buy it in bulk from a semi-truck that comes through our area from somewhere in Montana.  There's lots of different places that you can buy bulk grains.  I order from here.  It's much cheaper that way.  But it does take a while to use it up. That's why we set out to learn how to store it properly so that it stays fresh until I'm ready to use it.  Here's what we came up with.... the most economical and effective method that we could find.

 Here's what you need:

Holiday Recovery Plan

I remember reading years ago in a health-type book that depression is your body's natural response to stress.  I found it surprising, because I always thought of depression as a BAD thing and something to be resisted.  It can become a bad thing, if allowed to go on too long, but it is actually healthy and perfectly natural.

Ruthie's Birthday!

The first wave of Christmas company is past. But before we visit with family for New Year's, we've got to celebrate another very important birthday.  Ruth Mercy is 13!!!  Yep, that makes four teenagers in one house.  Lord help us all!

Christmas Recap

 Whew!  That was fast and furious.  Yeah, I'm beat.  It's the biggest party of the year.  It takes at least a month to prepare for that one magical hour.  Now it's all over.  Now it's time to breathe.  And nap.  And eat leftovers for about a week. 

Our Favorite Christmas Cookies

Buttery spritz Christmas trees. Aren't they cute?

Considering Santa

Benjamin informed me the other day that kids who believe in Santa are lucky because they get lots of stuff.  I'm not sure what kind of stuff he was referring to.  It seems to me that he has gotten more "stuff" than he knows what to do with.  I guess he means "magical" stuff.

I'm not sure when we decided that our kids weren't going to believe in Santa.  We just never really brought it up.  We also tell them that daddy is the tooth fairy.  Pretty unimaginative, huh.

Surviving Relatives

We've done almost all the shopping.  We've baked our cookies and decorated our tree.  We've planned our menus.  So, now that we're almost there...only a few days to go...it's time for a whole new Christmas challenge.

Relatives.

Yeah, all those people that you love and hate at the same time.

That you miss like crazy, but who drive you crazy when you're with them.

Spicy Gingerbread Men

The Vaughn family has come to a consensus...  These are the best gingerbread men we have ever baked. (and we've tried a lot of different recipes through the years)  These actually taste good!  Nice and soft, but firm enough to stack and store.
Get a bunch of cheap candy from the dollar store.  Mix up some icing.
Make a big mess and have fun!!!

So, here's the yummy recipe:

Changing Tradition

OK, so I said that I wasn't going to stress out this Christmas.
I've got less than a week.  I haven't stockpiled any cookies.  I am not done shopping.  My craft projects are still unfinished.  I still need to take seven kids to do their shopping.  Our second car's transmission bit the dust last week.  Thus, I do not have a car with which to complete these tasks.  I am not going to stress out.  I am talking to myself.  If I was a yoga person, I'd be doing yoga right now.

But I'm not, so here's my plan...

Surprising Deals

How's your shopping going?
If you're done, You are amazing and you can skip this article.
If you're like me, read on...
Alot of people ask how we afford Christmas presents for so many children.  Sister, it ain't easy!  But, it IS possible, with some creative tactics. First, ya gotta think outside the (wal-mart) box.

This year, there's a surprising bunch of deals to be had at the mall.

All my handsome guys, and my coffee.  ♡