This week's ponde rings

As I was studying my ponder talk of the week (IT WORKS WONDERFULLY, President Uchtdorf, October 2015 General Conference), this hit me. The Lord tells us clearly and simply what to do (and what He can do) and the Adversary immediately sets out to distract us from heeding the counsel of the Lord by dulling our senses and filling us with unnecessary information. 

Here is what President Uchtdorf said, 

"I was disregarding truth I could rely on and instead found myself being drawn to the often-outlandish claims of Internet lore."

How often do I get caught up in the distractions and "outlandish" enticements of Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube when the quiet whisperings of my loving Father in Heaven go unnoticed and unheeded? Sigh. It is so easy to fill my heart and mind with the fog of the world. 

Gratitude...finding peace in the moment

November. Step outside and take a good look around. Do it now, before you get all caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Clear your mind and for a few moments, just forget about your worries, anxieties, and fears. Look past all the "stuff" obscuring your vision. Can you see it?  I mean, REALLY see it?  Look more closely. It could be quite small, something you would never have noticed at any other time. I know it's there. Just exactly what "it" is depends on you. But when you find it you will know. Something inside will whisper peace to your soul and for that moment at least, all will be well. That's what gratitude does. It brings peace and a sense of true contentment. So look around, and find peace in the moment. 

A palace of recycled materials

We spent the day working on what our family has fondly begun calling the chicken palace. My job was awesome! I got to use the jigsaw and some handy pry-bar (is that even a word?) tools to dismantle used pallets. Well, it turned out to be much harder than I thought it would be. First of all, i had to keep track of all...and I do mean ALL nails. Because, we don't want to spend money saved by using repurposed wood on a new tire. And there seemed to be a crazy amount of nails.  Also, although some wood (pine) saws through fairly easily, other types of wood (oak) are a lot harder. It turns out that some pallets are made from whatever wood is available, so one pallet may have several types of wood.  I learned that those harder woods are also heavier. So, I cut and I pried and I lifted and I pulled. Eventually I ended up with a nice little pile of what we call "siding". I am quite proud of the results of yesterday's labors. 

Our chicken adventures begin

"Chicken Math" happened at our house this year. No longer content to keep a few chickens to get a few eggs, I hatched a marvelous plan. Get. More. Chickens. That's it.  Cool plan, right?  Brilliant in its simplicity, really.

A lovely egg on a list of some of the things I appreciate about my good husband. 

As with any spectacular plan, problems are bound to crop up. My gals (and Elvis) were already crowded in their housing. But my dear, sweet, understanding, generous, hardworking, awesome, super studly, amazing (did I mention he's very understanding?) husband already planned to build a more suitable chicken coop this summer, so I simply (very simply, in fact) proposed he just make it bigger. MUCH bigger. DH wasn't overly amused with my idea for some reason.

           Needing a little elbow room!

Well, if they come, he will build it. Didn't I hear that famous line in a movie once? (You know, the one where Kevin Costner builds a baseball diamond in his corn field?) We went to our local feed store for a great variety of egg layers. Marans for chocolate brown eggs. Jersey Giants and dark Brahamas just because they are cool. Rhode Island reds for lots of eggs and some Golden Sex Links to insure we really truly got enough hens. This year, we let the littlest red-head choose two hens all for herself. Welcome to the roost, Chelsea (the Easter-egger) and Lavender (the Buff Orpington). How many chicks did we bring home? It might possibly have been about 30, but who's counting?  (It's called "Chicken Math. Google it.)

           Soooo cute at this stage!!

Then two of our little banties went broody and seemed to really want to just sit on their eggs. Sooo, I thought, why not? There will be plenty of room!! Twenty one days later the first of 15 eggs hatched. Our first home made chicken!!! It was soo exciting. The girls and I even danced a little jig (which probably resembaled The Chicken Dance a bit). Over the course of be next three weeks the rest of the little eggs hatched. We even got to save one who had fallen out of the nest and nearly froze to death. 

In any event, our little flock has grown substantially...both in numbers and size.  My (very understanding) DH has been a super good egg (sorry, it had to happen eventually) about building a safe place to keep all our fluffy friends.  But that's a story for another blog post. 

Time to keep track

Well, I have decided to really start blogging about my journey. Not because I think anyone will actually read this, but because I simply need to keep track. I do occasionally write in my journal. But there are times when my thoughts need a little visual aid. Like today, for example. I took a walk. Not from an actual desire to get exercise. Unfortunately, that is not currently part of my nature (yet). It is this diabetes stuff. It is kicking my butt, and I am sick and tired of getting my butt kicked. So, I visited a diabetes counselor and dietitian this past Monday. As a result, I am keeping track...mostly of the numbers and what I am eating. It has been a little alarming. My bgl (blood glucose level) was 123 first thing this morning. I ate a healthy balanced breakfast of oatmeal with peanutbutter, and scrambled eggs. Two hours later my bgl was over 350!! Instead of allowing this to impact my mood in a very negative way (high blood sugars make me soooo grumpy 😖), I decided to drink water and walk our hill. I went down and up the hill 3X in 20 minutes and feel better already. The kids are glad I chose this method if dealing with high blood sugars!! 

Up the hill really gets my heart pumping.

Tasty treasures hanging from some trees along the road at the bottom of the hill. I refrained from eating any, though. 

I have quite a long journey ahead of me. I weigh about 225 lbs, have type II diabetes which requires injections of insulin to control...and it looks like that control will take some serious effort to reach. My goal weight has been set at 145 lbs. I need an A1c of 7 or lower which will reflect giod control of my blood sugars. Insulin does indeed make it difficult to lose weight, but I need it to keep my sugars at a healthy level. 

Today's walk was a step in the right direction. 

My water jar holds about 80 ounces of water!! 

Sometimes it is hard to be a Mom

Not that I would ever REALLY complain. I mean, when all is said and done, I am so thankful that I am a mother. I truly love each and every one of my children with a fierceness that I sometimes find surprising.  I had no idea how intensely a mother just feels. Love. Pride. Hope. Happy moments. Silly moments. Joyful moments. Of course, not every emotion is fun to experience. There has been sorrow. Disappointment. Frustration. And worry. Always plenty of worry.  I suppose the fact that I have so many children has ensured that I get to enjoy such a kaleidoscope of emotion. It just goes with the territory. I get that. But sometimes being a mom is just hard. That's right. It isn't always easy to watch those we love so intensely struggle to overcome trials and hardships. And frankly, I am not a big fan of all that teenager vs parent stuff. We have had a few weeks of that over here, so it was rather pleasant to discover the teenager taking time out to pursue some non-dramatic entertainment...all by herself yesterday. Yeah, it can be hard--but oh so worth it!

The heart felt genuine laughter is definitely worth a little hard every now and then. 

Trying out new technology blogger on my phone

Yeah, always a scary thing where I am involved. But what if it works? What if I am able to just blog all my random thoughts whenever they POP into my brain? Wherever I may be?  Oh, the possibilities!! Scary, but really cool at the same time...

Just added a picture...am I becoming a techie or what?? Now to figure out how to post all this awesomeness.