Dear Readers,

I'm sorry I haven't posted lately.  This summer is flying by and lots of things have been happening in my life, to keep me away from the computer for long periods of time (which is needed in order to write you a decent post :}).

Unfortunately (Fortunately?!! :})  Tommorrow morning our family will be starting a ten day vacation!  It will be our first one in 10 years, so we are really excited!  However, this means that I will be unable to post during that period of time and I am sorry about that. :(

Before we leave however, I wanted to leave a very important post with you to "ruminate" on while I'm away. 

For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while now, realize that one of my passions is fighting for Parental Rights in the U.S.. As of right now an Amendment for protecting the rights of parents is quickly approaching its congressional hearing (July 19, 2012).  If you are unfamiliar with the Parental Rights Amendment (PRA) you can read some of my previous posts on it here, watch the trailer for "Overruled: Government Invasion of Our Parental Rights" here and watch the actual movie here.

As the date is fast approaching for the hearing and as I won't be getting back until 10 days before the hearing, I wanted again remind those of you who know and let those of you don't know, how important this amendment is to you, our parents, our future, homeschooling, the future of the United States of America, the safety of children and so much more.

When I recieved the following email from PR, I was filled with dismay.  This amendment is so important!  Please read it:

Supreme Court Ruling Threatens Parental Rights

Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling in the health care case marks a decisive turn in the American experiment of freedom. There is no doubt the opinion shocked and dismayed liberty-minded citizens across the United States. It also upped the ante on the Parental Rights Amendment – and that’s why I must urge you to help.

Let me explain.

First, the ambiguity of federal HIPAA legislation was already a problem for parental rights. It is an open door that lets states infringe a parent’s fundamental liberty to make informed medical decisions for their child. Under the health care law, this gap is only going to get worse.

Second, the health care bill allows the government to spend millions on home visitation programs in which government officials enter your home to monitor and instruct how you raise your kids.

Third, the decision has made explicit a disturbing legal doctrine long implicit in the Supreme Court: that Congress has unlimited power to tax for any purpose, even beyond its enumerated powers. This provides one more tool the government can use to control what happens in your home.

If we are to protect parental rights in America we must pass the Parental Rights Amendment soon! The PRA will provide protection for parents and families in every one of these areas of concern.

As a citizen of these beloved United States,  I realize what a great debt I owe my God, my ancestors, my grandparents, my parents and those in the military.  They have done probably more then I will ever understand to ensure that the freedoms that I so often take for granted, are there for me to enjoy.  I must ask myself and you, "What will I do for the next generation?" "What will I do to honor those who have gone before me?" What will I do to protect what God has deemed a foundation of this earth, the family?"

Please, contact your local government leaders as well as those who serve at the national level.  We have elected them and they need to know how we the the people feel about it.  How important it is to us, that our parental rights are protected! 

You can visit parentalrights.org for more information on the amendment, how to contact your Senator or Congressman and how to get involved.  But most importantly, to add your name to the petition saying how important this bill is to the citzens of the U.S.!

 

Yodeling Video =)

I saw this posted on Google Groups today and have played it several times :]  I'm not even familiar with the language, but I love listening to them sing and the girl yodels beautifully!  :o)

I know this is so random, but I thought it would be fun to share and I hope all of you enjoy it too! =P

P.S. I know the words and music are out of sync with the video, but it really didn't matter to me as I just enjoyed listening!

 

A Sweet Wrap!

I recently posted this recipe on Altogether Seperate the blog I'm co-author on, and I thought it would be fun to post it here as well.  This is my first recipe post on this blog, but it's one of my  favorite recipes so I had to share it with all of you :]



"As soon as the topic was decided on I knew exactly what I wanted to share....however, why is it, that sometimes the best recipes are the ones that you've experimented with and you don't have exact measurements????  Guess what?  That's mine...  So you'll have to bear with me as the measurements will not be exact, but if you play with it and tweek it so you like it, you'll want to have it every week!

So....what is the recipe???  Sweet Potato Wraps (No I couldn't think of a more exciting name =])

I first had a sweet potato wrap at our local Co-op and the first bite I had made me thank God for another one of His vitamin rich, healthy vegetables!

As soon as we finished the wrap we new we would have to experiement and see if we could make something similar.  So, the next chance we had we ran to the Grocery store and picked up a bag of sweet potatoes.





What You Will Need:

2lb.  Sweet Potatoes
8oz.  Red Kidney Beans
1-2 tsp. Cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 - 3/4 cup Veganaise - This is the vegan version of Mayonnaise.  I haven't tried it with mayo, but I'm sure it would be fine to use, however, the veganaise is fantastic with this.


Any type of wrap you want - Our family loves the spelt or spinach wraps!
Vegetables you would want in your wrap:  lettuce, spinach, salad mixture, shredded carrot,
celery, tomato, mushrooms, scallions, peppers, olives or whatever else you feel like :]

Optional: 
The Co-op used Vegan bacon bits that gave it some more added flavor.  We have yet to get some of that, but if you want you could add that as well!


1. We always put our vegetables in the sink filled with water and some hydrogen peroxide to clean them from any chemicals that have been sprayed on them, germs that have touched them or anything else that we would really rather not put into our body :] So the first thing I did was wash them and while they were soaking I turned the oven on.

2. We have a propane oven so the tempatures and time will vary as to how hot the oven should be and how long the sweet potatoes should be in there.  I set the oven at 400 degrees and cook them for an hour and they are usually perfect. (Keep checking them until they are done as 400 degrees for an hour may be too long for your oven) ~ For those of you who have never cooked sweet potato, we take a fork and poke holes in them just like regular potatoes so that they don't burst and then we place them in our bread pans.  We put them in the bread pans because they will leek out juices and make a mess in the stove otherwise. ~

You'll know they are done when you can sink a fork into it with no trouble at all. 

3. When they are done take them out and let them cool to room tempature. Once cool, I peel the skins off and break them up and put them in the cuisinart.(or whatever you want to use to puree it, you could even mash them with a fork if you wanted to.  However, you are trying to get almost a hummus consistency, so get it as smooth as possible.)

4.  As you blend the sweet potatoes, start adding the veganaise, cumin, salt and pepper.  When you start to add the veganaise or mayonnaise add it slowly.  Taste to see how much you want.  This helps make the mixture smoother and gives you some added taste, but you DON'T want to over do it. Tasting it as you go along will help :]  Same goes for the cumin and whatever other spice you may want to add =]

5. The very last ingredient to add to the mixture are the beans.  Drain the can and then add the beans.  You don't want to pulverize the beans and make them smooth like the rest of the mixture.  Just mashed slightly or cut in half.  You still want to know that they are beans and when you are eating the wrap it will give you another consistency. (If using bacon bits, this is when you would add them)

6.  And now you're ready to make your wrap.  Just spread the sweet potato mixture over your wrap as thick as you want and add the veggies! 

I know there were a lot of directions, but this recipe is really very simple once you know how to make it.
If you bake the potatoes the day before, it shouldn't take you long to whip this up for lunch and bring for that picnic lunch you've been planning for this spring season!  It's really healthy and makes you feel good about eating it :]

Enjoy!"