Drum roll please!!!!!...............
The winner of Ruby in the Rough's first giveaway is................
Adrianna Castillo!!!
CONGRATULATIONS, Adrianna!
Thank you to all who participated! It was so fun, I will certainly have more in the near future!
5.17.2011
Extension to my "Facing the Giants" DVD giveaway!
5.14.2011
Some things about me...
I thought I'd list some things about me that you wouldn't otherwise know unless you knew me personally. Eventually, I will probably write something on one or more of these topics, just for fun & give my reasons for why I do them. If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment & I will address them as best as I can. For most of these topics, I have links that I can send you to so you can find out more about them. Just let me know which one you'd like to know more about. Each of these things has somehow DRASTICALLY changed either our health, wealth, and/or efficiency of our household.
- As a family, we have been drinking raw milk (either cow or goat) for over 6 years now, mostly for its health benefits, but also for the variety of things you can do with it that you wouldn't otherwise be able to do w/ pasteurized/homogenized milk. See below...
- We make our own goat milk soap, cheese, & kefir from our milk.
When we had a cow, we regularly made fresh butter. Someday, I'd like to go back to owning a cow again. I miss her! - Cloth diapers (for baby) and cloth menstrual pads (for us ladies) are best!
- We love to make & drink kombucha--(just not while I'm nursing.)
- We make our own herbal capsules
- We make our own colloidal silver
- I cut hair for my whole family & sometimes even my own! ;0)
- I rarely go to see my medical doctor. In fact, I haven't been to see her for almost a year! I prefer to see my naturopath if I'm dealing w/ an ailment. I always get MUCH better results!
- I love to sew. I find it very therapeutic.
- We love to shoot guns!
these are some of my children with our dear friends, the M family! - We have purposely chosen to home birth for a variety of reasons. I definitely plan to do a post on this topic in the near future! Too many women have been frightened into thinking that home birthing is dangerous & an impossible option for them. I would like to help change that & calm women's fears! For some women, it may be dangerous, but for most I believe it is not.
my most recent little prince! - Home school all the way - ESPECIALLY through high school! We support & are members of the Home School Legal Defense Association! I highly recommend them if you home school.
- As a family, we don't watch TV--we choose not to pay for cable & we live so far out in the country that (thankfully!) there is no reception. We prefer to watch a good family-oriented movie or the old TV series w/out commercials!
5.09.2011
Ruby in the Rough's FIRST Giveaway!
I am very excited to announce my first blog giveaway!
For the prize, I have a brand new, sealed DVD copy of "Facing the Giants" to give to one of my dear readers!!!
If you've never seen this movie, I highly recommend it! I'm not a huge fan of football but the deeper message of this movie is what I love about it! It's all about trusting that GOD CAN DO THE IMPOSSIBLE!!! God's victory at the end of the movie brought me to tears! A very family oriented movie. One that we enjoy watching altogether.
You MUST be a follower of my blog in order to enter to win...
There are 4 ways for you to win this giveaway:
- Post about this on your blog. If you have more than one blog, you may use each blog as one entry. Send me a link to your blog so I can read the post & browse it too! :0)
- Post about this giveaway on Facebook.
- Email 7 of your friends and include my email in it: rubyintherough7@gmail.com
- Grab my blog button!
Giveaway will close on Monday, May 16th, at midnight. Winner will be announced May 17th.
This is SO fun! Can't wait to see who wins!!!
5.07.2011
Mothers and Matthew 25:34-37
"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we..." Matthew 25:34-37...
I heard a sermon on the radio once (I wish I could remember who said it!) where the preacher explained how closely we, as mothers, practice this passage EVERY DAY!!! We prepare meals for our families at least 3 times a day. We satisfy their thirst.
and completely helpless when they arrive! We bring them into our homes, loving them unconditionally, clothing them for years to come, and nursing them back to health into the wee hours of the night whenever they fall ill.
What a privilege! AND what an honor to know that my mother cared for me this way when I was young & helpless! I am SO thankful for my dear mother!
Isn't she beautiful?! She's 79 years young in this photo!
Anyway, going back to that sermon I heard, when I heard that preacher compare this passage of scripture to mothers, it BLESSED me beyond words! I had often (selfishly) thought how much of my day as a mother goes unnoticed by another human's eyes. Whenever I began to have a pity party about it, the Lord would gently remind me of how THE most important Being in the universe notices every single detail of each day I spend with my precious ones. Knowing THAT makes it SO much more rewarding! It always helps me to meditate on that fact & to practice doing everyday, mundane chores as though I'm doing them all for the glory of Lord Himself. (1Cor.10:31)
I am in absolute AWE of how God GIVES us the privilege of being wives & mothers! What a GIFT!!! Thank You, Jesus, for allowing me the blessing of having a godly mother who took care of me, loves me, prays for me, & raised me up in the fear & admonition of the Lord! And thank You for showering my husband & I with a full quiver of sweet, precious children to raise for your glory!
Isn't she beautiful?! She's 79 years young in this photo!
Anyway, going back to that sermon I heard, when I heard that preacher compare this passage of scripture to mothers, it BLESSED me beyond words! I had often (selfishly) thought how much of my day as a mother goes unnoticed by another human's eyes. Whenever I began to have a pity party about it, the Lord would gently remind me of how THE most important Being in the universe notices every single detail of each day I spend with my precious ones. Knowing THAT makes it SO much more rewarding! It always helps me to meditate on that fact & to practice doing everyday, mundane chores as though I'm doing them all for the glory of Lord Himself. (1Cor.10:31)
I am in absolute AWE of how God GIVES us the privilege of being wives & mothers! What a GIFT!!! Thank You, Jesus, for allowing me the blessing of having a godly mother who took care of me, loves me, prays for me, & raised me up in the fear & admonition of the Lord! And thank You for showering my husband & I with a full quiver of sweet, precious children to raise for your glory!
5.02.2011
2011 Christian Heritage Home Educators Conference
My family & I were truly blessed to be able to go to the Christian Heritage Home Educators Conference over the weekend for the first time! See their main web site here:
http://www.christianheritageonline.org/events/2011-ch-conference-main-page/
The speakers were very encouraging. What was MOST encouraging was hearing my dear son say how blessed he was that we went & how much he learned, AND hearing my dear daughters say how blessed they are for BEING home schooled! One daughter even mentioned how she realized just how often she takes being home schooled for granted. That was wonderful to hear! I mean, that she realized it, not that she takes it for granted! LOL! I ordered a bunch of cd's of sessions that I was unable to attend, so I'm eager to hear them all! I will share as I have opportunity!
I do encourage you all to try to attend the OCEANetwork conference that will be held in Portland, OR on June 24th & 25th, if you're at all able to!!! I'd love to see you there!!! It will be my first time to this one as well. See info here & REGISTER TODAY:
http://www.oceanetwork.org/calendar/conference/
Hope to see you there!!!
http://www.christianheritageonline.org/events/2011-ch-conference-main-page/
The speakers were very encouraging. What was MOST encouraging was hearing my dear son say how blessed he was that we went & how much he learned, AND hearing my dear daughters say how blessed they are for BEING home schooled! One daughter even mentioned how she realized just how often she takes being home schooled for granted. That was wonderful to hear! I mean, that she realized it, not that she takes it for granted! LOL! I ordered a bunch of cd's of sessions that I was unable to attend, so I'm eager to hear them all! I will share as I have opportunity!
I do encourage you all to try to attend the OCEANetwork conference that will be held in Portland, OR on June 24th & 25th, if you're at all able to!!! I'd love to see you there!!! It will be my first time to this one as well. See info here & REGISTER TODAY:
http://www.oceanetwork.org/calendar/conference/
Hope to see you there!!!