Lots of odds and Ends on my mind today...

Berry Picking

This morning, Daddy took a half day and we enjoyed some blueberry and elderberry picking. It's the end of blueberry season, so although there wasn't an abundance of blueberries, elderberry season has just begun and there were plenty of ripe elderberries. Yum! Elderberries are VERY nutritious for you, especially in the department of antioxidants. Any type of berry, for that matter, is usually very rich in antioxidants. Anyway, I have ours out on a towel now in the kitchen, ready to pluck. We'll keep some to eat raw (the best way to get all the nutrition out of a fruit or veggie!) for lunches, and then we'll be making some elderberry jam out of the rest. Elderberries are sweet, but not as sweet as most berries so adding a little raw, organic sugar to them can liven up their taste and be a treat. :) I'm going to make elderberry jam out of what we don't use up raw and our goal is to make a blueberry pie tonight for dessert.

Birth Control...A Controversial Topic Amongst Women

I've also been reading up on THIS. There's been more and more information coming out on the topic of birth control (not just limited to the pill) and the side effects outweigh the benefits by a TON. I'm not going to get personal on the topic, however I've now found healthier alternatives and we'll leave it at that. I'm so sad that I wasn't aware of these side effects SOONER or I never would have gone that route. One of the side effects of the pill is making your uterine lining impossible for egg attachment so that IF you were to become pregnant with a baby, that baby couldn't attach to the uterine wall and grow. Some have gone so far as to call 'the pill' the pro-abortion pill. I have a new website that I frequent and you can find it at www.humanlife.org.

"According to scientific research, ALL hormonal contraceptives have the capability to cause an abortion (the pill, patch, mini-pill, shot, vaginal ring, emergency contraception, intrauterine devices, etc.) Hormonal contraceptives work in three ways: by attempting to stop ovulation, by thickening the cervical fluids to prevent fertilization, and by thinning the lining of the uterus to prevent implantation. The first two methods are contraceptive, but if they fail, the third method can cause an abortion since it occurs after fertilization."

"On Day #1: The sperm joins with the egg to form one cell. This single cell contains the complex genetic makeup for every detail of a new human being- the child's sex, hair and eye color, height, skin tone, etc. After fertilization, nothing new is added but oxygen, nutrition and time."

I think that's true with a lot of things. "I wish I would have know this sooner" has been a common phrase that has come through my head often. It's just our culture. It's changed. We no longer grow our own food (most people). We no longer educate our children on foods, health, exercise and nutrition. We pick up a pizza and 'dinner is served' (I'm just as guilty as the next person). It's sad really. I was talking with my best friend about this awhile back, how if the Lord called me to return to teaching in a traditional school someday, that I would LOVE to teach Home Economics! I was actually blessed to have taught it back when I taught middle school. My principal handed me a list of the electives that as a school, we wanted to offer. He asked me what 'my nitch' was and what I'd like to teach. I snatched up the Home Economics course and went with it. Oh, the things I would change if I were teaching it now. I would have taught the same topics such as babysitting, CPR, cooking, etc., but I would have taken a different approach. Anyway, now I'm just rambling. :)

To Dos This Weekend:

1. Get netting up so chickens can't get into the garden. The stinkers ate up the last of my tomatoes! Our garden is officially on 'summer break'.

2. Visit Great-Grandma and some family from out of town

3. Get more raw milk from Mr. Lambert

4. Figure out an alternative to my non-working camera

5. Organize recipes

6. Homeschool organization...lap books, thematic lessons narrowed down for fall (I think I'm going to go with a new topic ever other week, expanding our learning in two-week increments to allow for lap book creation and review) and I have to pick up 'Mat Man' (Handwriting Without Tears) from my new friend, Ruth. 'Mat Man' is hands-on and I'll be using him to teach my son his letters this summer and fall.

7. Try my luck at making my own chicken food

8. Teaching Sunday School

9. Get Grandma's room ready as she comes in on MONDAY from China!

10. Date with hubby (heart)

Okay, gotta go check my berries! Have a lovely weekend everyone.