Matthews Family Herald

Eden is very proud of her first new tooth she cut the day before yesterday! The second one looks like it will be in today!

Just wanted to share what I learned about mustard , first hand(or right forearm). Last night I was frying some fries and onion rings in a deep fryer when the clasp on the tongs I was using slid down and then sprang open while in the boiling grease, dousing about %50 of my forearm. After running it in cold water for a few minutes, I consulted my herbal book, and some sites on the internet, while watching large blisters form on my arm. The neat thing was that James had just read the other day about how mustard works on burns. So at this point, not having anything on hand, like plantain or aloe, I was willing to try. So I slathered it all on, and it was only a couple of min. before there was no pain at all! I had to reapply every 30 min. or so when the pain came back. It removed all blisters, and by this morning, only slightly red in the worst places. I am very much a believer in mustard now, and will use it on all the kids' sunburns. Since I didn't want mustard all over my bed, I soaked a rag in vinegar(which is what I think did the trick in the mustard)wrapped it around and tied it on. There was no pain or sensitivity and I slept well all night! Try it for yourselves, you'll be totally amazed! Another strange remedy I came across, (in case you don't have any mustard) was urine ("preferably your own", it said) HA! James did offer!

Have you, as a follower of Jesus and if you are a follower of Jesus, been wondering where your sin has gone to?

Oddly, I've heard several people debating in the past over whether or not there is a place where God says your sins are cast into the "sea of forgetfulness" or something like that. Today, I came across the verse that mentions that our sins are cast into the bottom of the sea.

Micah 7:18-19 (New International Reader's Version)

18 Lord, who is a God like you?
You forgive sin.
You forgive your people
when they do what is wrong.
You don't stay angry forever.
Instead, you take delight in showing
your faithful love to them.
19 Once again you will show loving concern for us.
You will completely wipe out
the evil things we've done.
You will throw all of our sins
into the bottom of the sea.

No wonder it's so heavy and crushing when anyone tries to go down there. No sunlight. Probably pretty muchy and nasty too. I'm glad mine are down there and I do not want to try and revisit them. I definately don't want to bring any of it back up to the surface either. I want to make sure it's firmly planted there; wouldn't want anything washing up on the beach with the tide or floating there just under the surface.

Well, after about 30 minutes of trying to sign in!!!! (Thank you, to my computer savvy and very patient hubby - you're the best) I am posting my first blog. I am determined however to continue trying and learning. Speaking of which, James mentioned my recent endeavors earlier. I would like to report that the laundry seems as clean as ever, and we now have several canned jars of food and preserves in the pantry; my favorite of which is the blueberry/lime jam on the homemade %100 whole wheat bread the kids helped me make last night. I can't tell you how rewarding it is to can, bake, learn about herbal remedies, make homemade detergent and use cloth diapers. Is it just because I'm learning something new, fullfilling long-time dreams, or is it something else? Not sure, all I know is that the desire to learn these things and become more self-sufficient has become overwhelming. Most likely, as I see more and more Christians and homeschoolers taking this route, I believe that these are skills that we are going to need someday. Living a wholesome, basic and simple life is very fulfilling (especially in this fast-paced, 9 to 5- American Dream- grind. Not to mention the great quality time and learning opportunity for the kiddos as they help and learn along side me. (I can't do ANYTHING without our 2 yr. old, Nathan, running to help!) Just food for thought.
Anyway, tomorrow is Micah's big debut in Robinson Crusoe -Yes! He got the lead! And he is so awesome - we are very proud! In fact, I had flashbacks at the auditions when they called Micah's name. I saw a crazy red-headed mom whooping on the sidelines, with teary eyes, as Micah hit his first run at his first baseball game when he was five. yeah- it was scarey. Oh, and did I mention that I got a part as well? Robinson's mom of course! Should have some pics tomorow- until then..........

Heather

(I have updated the photo here to depict actually food that my wife has "canned."

My wife has gone "canning crazy" and it's a lot of fun for all of us. She's already canned (Mason Jars) Kiwi jam (it's actually really tasty) and she's preparing to can some left overs in the fridge. She's wanting to can apples and peaches given to us by Mrs. Blake and she's looking for anything else can-able as well. She's like when you first learn how to sell things on eBay and you are looking all over the house.

We are all actually really excited about learning how to do things like this and be prepared for whatever the future has and to be more self sufficient. It's a lot of fun.

My wife has also learned how to make her own laundry detergent and it works very well. It costs next-to-nothing and one batch should last for about 6 months.

Micah is depicted here holding one of his "creations." He loves designing stuff with these.

Micah is, as we speak, trying out for the lead role in a play sponsored by the military public schools and based off of the book "Robinson Crusoe." Normally, we don't do much with the public school system but since this book is primarily from a Godly perspective and with a Godly intent, we decided to take this opportunity for Micah to develop his talent and interact with others. (And to encourage the school system to be more open to Godly things.) Hopefully, the school won't pollute the story by editing out it's most important elements.

Anyhow, Micah was rehearsing and trying to get ready but the hour was getting pretty late. Instead of staying up way past the time he should be sleeping, he felt like God told him not to worry and to go on to bed. Sure enough, a friend who is also going called this morning to tell us that Micah would not need to have something memorized after all but that the judges would hand him something and want him to do it, impromptu. So, Micah is ready both inside and out.

Regardless of what part he gets, we will be proud of him and ask for your prayers and encouragement for him. Should he get a part in the play, they will rehearse twice a day and then perform this Saturday.

I was previously not a cloth diaper fan but now I'm ready to agree that "Yep, these are cloth diapers I can get into." Heather has done the dirty work for us! She ordered 12 different kinds of cloth diapers off of eBay and figuered out which features worked best by trying them all out on our newest bundle of joy, Eden. Watch now as Heather provides you the nitty gritty, low down, down low, no doubt 411 on this latest endeavor of ours. Heather invites you to email her if you have any brand name or ordering questions or whatever and she'll plan to get back with you soon. Email Heather at: mamajama92@yahoo.com