Our Life In The Wilderness: New chicks and a giveaway!!!!

 My friend Cindy is asking for help captioning a picture of her cute new chicks! And the caption they pick wins a book! :-) Head over and see if you can come up with a witty caption... my brain has yet to come up with a good one, but give me time! LOL

Our Life In The Wilderness: New chicks and a giveaway!!!!: Heritage Rhode Island Reds. We had 5 of them hatch, but the last one had to have help, and I think it is too weak to make it. The other 4 th...

Our 140+ year old bean pot... so excited!

Not a lot to say about this... just had to share a picture because this thing is SO cool! :-)  

The gentleman we purchased it from (at a steal... I actually felt guilty it was sooo cheap) told us that this pot is from the 1870's and has traveled on the Oregon Trail to CA from our area in Arkansas and back again.  WOW!  For us history nuts that just made us twitch! ;-)

Lizzy could practically fit INTO this bean pot!

Of course Tribe Papa likes to call it a cauldron...

So, there you have it! Our newest addition to the tribe, and we feel it's a good one!  Do you like to cook with cast iron?  We prefer it to any other cooking options.  And when the electricity goes out (or you are camping or living off grid) cast iron proves it's value over again!

Missing her...

Hope Always
By Sarah Gielow

I have a baby

who's tears I'll never dry

who's hair I'll never smooth

who will never ask me "why?"

I cradled deep a sweetie

who's heart should've fluttered to life

but rather than sweet little beats

to our hearts a cold, harsh knife

We never smelled your sweet scent

we never heard you laugh

we often look around...

seems you should be running past

Even though our arms don't hold you

your cheeks we never kissed

regardless of our emptiness
we look forward to holding you someday, princess

Your name we thought we knew

till you whispered it that day

seems YHWH had other plans for us

yet still you are our Hope, always.

We lost our Hope on December 25th, 2009.  She was our third baby, and we were SO excited to have her joining our family.  We miscarried her at 6 weeks, 6 days.  Many people have looked down upon us for naming her and calling her by a feminine title when she was so young.  We never had proof to back up our belief that she was a girl, as we had an at home and unassisted miscarriage.  But we all knew it was a girl, and we agreed that naming her, speaking of her regularly and explaining to the kids was the right thing for our family.  Our Lizzy who is now 5 (but at the time was a mature 3) still remembers Hope being in my belly and when we lost her.  She talks about her often, we enjoy talking about what we will do when we get to see Hope someday in eternity. 

Now, we had planned to name our next girl Annelise.  And we really thought that was going to be this baby's name.  But after she passed, I got this burning in me.  I kept hearing over and over "Hope."  You see, we had been through a lot as a couple and as a family.  We had struggled to find peace, hope and a place in this world.  But this baby, she was a light in the darkest of places for us.  She really was our hope.  So when we lost her it cut us so deep.  The night after I lost her, I had a dream.  She came to me as a young woman.  In this dream she actually looked a lot like me which I found very strange as all my kids "look just like their Papa!"  In the dream she was Hope, not Annelise. The photo above reminds me of her in that dream.  This is a picture of a little tray I have had since I was young, and I keep it in my bathroom so whenever I look at it I get a sweet reminder of her.  After this dream I talked to Tribe Papa about naming her Hope.  He thought a bit, and agreed it fit her best.  So our Hope she is, forever.

There are days my heart aches so deeply I could swear it is about to bust.  I miss her.  Yet, even at the time of loss I somehow knew that she was stepping aside and making room for another little person to join us.  We were surprised to find out just a few short weeks later that we were again expecting, and here is where Axell's story begins!  That is a tale to tell on another post, but as you can see he did indeed come to be with us even though I almost lost him at around the same time developmentally as we lost Hope. 

I whisper to my girl on days like today, and even if she cannot hear me it helps to ease my hurt a bit.  I ask Yahusha to squeeze her in a big bear hug for me, and to take her swirling and dancing through flower fields.  I see her in my mind's eye... and smile as another tear rolls down my cheek.  I know she is in the best place of all, the arms of our beloved Messiah.

Natural Dads: FieldCraft 101: Quick Rucksack Repair

A great little tutorial by none other than my very quick witted hubby! ;-)

Keep in mind, this works really well for both rucksacks and backpacks. We keep some lengths of paracord with each of our "adventure packs" just in case we ever lose a strap while on a trail or out camping. Hope you enjoy and learn a little something!

Natural Dads: FieldCraft 101: Quick Rucksack Repair

Tribal Hair

Are you ready to have some fun, get great hair, lose the chemicals and be free of yet another addiction placed upon us by those that market products to us we don’t actually need? Then read on and learn the basics of shampoo free living!  And as a bonus, you will get healthier, and maybe even shed a pound or two as you detox from the chemicals in your everyday hair products.

So... the starter routine is:

2T BS (baking soda) to 8 oz water for your "shampoo" and then once you have scrubbed your hair and scalp for a couple minutes (focus on your scalp a LOT) rinse it out.

Followed by  

2T ACV (apple cider vinegar) to 8 oz water and do the same. 

Alternate Rinses:

Fresh squeezed lemon juice, you could probably use frozen cubes, or even store bought if it was pure juice. Lemon is known to lighten hair when exposed to sunlight, so do not do this if you have naturally dark hair.

Chamomile tea, the handful of times I have done this I just made myself a cup of tea, drank half and used the other half for rinsing, I did not water it down at all.  Chamomile tea, like lemon can lighten your hair when exposed to sunlight so please only use this if you are willing to risk the consequences! 

I have been told that lemon and chamomile tea can add nice highlights, but I have no experience personally as I have never used them enough to reap the benefits.

Unsweetened cranberry juice, I have not tried this personally as of yet.  But when I do I plan to use it in a similar ratio to the ACV.

Coffee, for brunettes most specifically as it has been known to darken the hair with repeated applications or extended saturation (20-30 minutes). 

I imagine there are many other optional rinses out there, the goal of these rinses it to restore the proper ph to the hair so that it does not get overly dried out.  BS has a higher ph than your natural scalp/hair and these rinses restore that balance and close the pours and follicles.

Additions:

Honey to combat dry hair, especially during the winter months.  1 tsp. to start and then you can adjust to meet your personal needs.  This goes into the BS/water.

TTO (Tea Tree Oil) to combat dandruff.  I have heard 1-2 drops right into your BS.

Essential Oil to add that nice scent you are missing! Just mix in with the rinse of your choice and enjoy the goodness.

Moisturizers/Leave in Conditioners:

Coconut/Almond/Apricot/Walnut Oils are all lovely leave ins, and again a drop of essential oil will likely liven up the scent of these carrier oils and leave your hair feeling great and smelling amazing!
Deep Conditioners:

All Raw - Honey/Eggs/Avocados/Bananas/Yogurt are all lovely and easy to use when alone or combined into your own customized favorites!  Rub in well and rinse 15-30 minutes after application, then follow with your normal no'poo wash.  I think tonight I might try honey/egg/banana to see if it helps my hair look extra nice for my girls day out tomorrow... I'll let you know how that goes!

Also, very important to note is that most will go through a DETOX period. You will likely get worse before you get better. For me this lasted about 2-3 months.  The less you wash the quicker it goes, and it does not last forever.

From there you adjust to meet your needs... and please comment with your experiences!  I will continue to add to this post as I dig up old references and find new ones.

My story of breaking the shampoo addiction… it hurt at first!

I've been no-pooing for almost a year now and LOVE it. I have very thin, flat, greasy  hair and used to wash every day sometimes even twice a day.  I always hated that I couldn't do anything with my hair and was so envious of my best girlfriends beautiful, long, thick and wavy hair.  I tried perms, cuts (the cut makes a big difference too I found) and all the hair products I could find with a VOLUMIZING label.  Then one day on a crunchy mama's group I was a part of I saw these ladies talking about no poo... I had to click on that post!  I was a little nervous wondering what exactly they meant but was very quickly relived and excited.  I was just thrilled that I might be able to make my hair look nicer, regain strength and all for less money!  I tried the routine the next day and have not been back to shampoo since! I did suffer heavily through the detox period, but I had just had a baby and was not leaving to go anywhere so it worked out well enough for me.  It took me much longer than some ladies, I was over producing oils for about 3 months and it took a while to see that it was worth it all.  I almost gave up and washed it on several occasions, but I just couldn't do it.  Hair bands and hats were my best friends through that stage!  If you go through a heavy detox like I did just know it really won't last forever and it does get better!  Play with your amounts and see what your hair responds to best.  I use, 1 T BS to 6-8 oz water and 1 tsp ACV. I also add in 1 tsp. honey to my BS mix every other wash during the summer, and every wash during the winter to help combat the dry weather.  As soon as I can afford to get my hands on some Young Living essential oils I will be adding those into my rinse as well.  My hair is now wonderful, for me anyway!  This is the best it has been and it is very freeing to not be chained to the chemical based shampoo products.

As for the rest of my family, they no'poo too!  My kids have been blessed with their Papa's hair which is VERY thick, curly and coarse (think horse mane, teehee).  The kids hair is still soft for now, but even so hard to tame and gets tangled easily!  I prefer only do BS/ACV (same ratios as I use on myself) on them about once a month OR if they have gotten it actually dirty. And in between I simply do hot water rinses on them and add an oil into their hair about once a week while their hair is damp.  Most often coconut oil, but at times I use another oil I have on hand.  My husband decided on a much stronger mix for his coarse hair.  He uses about 3T BS to 6 oz water, and 2T ACV to 6 oz. water. 

Here are links to some lovely recipes for homemade hair care products:

Multiple recipes for various hair topics: http://www.longlocks.com/hair-care-recipes-cookbook.htm#cond12

Shine Spritz for curly hair: http://www.naturalchica.com/2011/03/maes-homemade-sweet-shine-spritz/ 

More wonderful personal care product recipes and tips can be found over at Nourishing Treasures, be sure to head over and tell Lea I sent you! :-)  

http://www.nourishingtreasures.com/index.php/category/personal-care/

3 dear ones and a date ~ September 28th

Today is a special day in my heart, forever.

Today is the day that Tribe Papa began his journey to posses the earth (Tehillim 37).  He is my rock, my leader, my strength.  I am in awe of the bond we share, the love we grow in and the strength that just continues to get stronger.  I love this man more than life itself and am so blessed to be called his own.  Sweetheart, you are the reason I am able to get up and move in the morning, the reason I keep striving to make this family stronger, healthier and more knit together in love.  You make my life worth living.  You gave me the most beautiful children, and they have the tenacious strength I so admire in you.  They are tough and willing to work hard just like their Papa.  They watch you, learn from you and reach for you when hurting.  They will thank you when they are grown and look back upon the example you've set and the love you've shown.  They will forever be grateful for the cuddles at night, the honesty of sorry, the walks in the woods, the evenings with music and the truth taught.  You are the head of this family, and we love you leading us.  This wife is forever grateful for you and look forward to each new memory we have yet to share.

This day is also the day of my dear Grammy's birth.  She has a rare strength, depth unknown in later generations.  She is the light in my past, the one hope in my genetics.  I being adopted, am forever thankful to have the gift of her friendship and love as an adult.  I feel so blessed, so touched that I was put into a place where I can look at this woman and know her value.  Not many are given such a gift, to have 2 beautiful women with which to look up to and call Grandma... friend.   I do not take you for granted Grammy, I appreciate you for all that you are!

And lastly, my dear sweet Lisa.  A day does not go by that I do not miss you.  I still water the pages at the ache inside since you passed.  I am so thankful you gave me your gift, to love health.  And even more so, to never wish for the next step, but rather linger on each rung and enjoy the moment.  You are forever my inspiration, the little voice reminding me why I take those extra hours, what it will mean to them in the future.  Why I am able to push through the exhaustion, because it does matter... the ingredients put in produce the strength of the future.  No way to take back poor nutrition, lack of care, harsh words, and reactive anger.  You taught me to think ahead, to question why and to care more about those around than myself.  You were a lasting example, your legacy will live on in those you touched.  My children will know you, and someday in eternity they will thank you too for all you taught me.  I miss you and wish we were sharing this moment now.  You are forever in my heart.