China is so close!!

Thursday, December 17, 2009



ImageChef.com Poetry Blender

No, we haven't gotten our Travel Approval yet.

But I am SO excited to tell you how CLOSE we are getting to travel time! On the optomistic side, we really could be IN CHINA (I can't believe it) in a month! That is AMAZING!

It's more than amazing, it's incredible.

Fantastic.

Remarkable.

Inconceivable.

That I could be in China in 30 days and be holding my little brother! It's one thing to know your mom is pregnant and see ultra sounds and be excited about it, but its' ANOTHER thing altogether to know that your little brother is already born and is over in another country waiting for you!

And it's perfectly awful to see his somber little face on looking at you on the computer screen day after day.


Can't you just hear him crying?



"Why haven't you come yet?"


Awww.....he's just too cute. I am more excited about this little boy than I have been about anyting for a long time. Of course, I was this excited when David came from Korea!


I AM SO EXCITED!!


That I could be boarding a plane bound for China in less than 30 days. And that I could be munching on M&M's while looking out the window and seeing...the North pole. Ice. Polar bears. Desolate cold wasteland with eskimos running around.


And that's one part I'm not really thrilled about, actually. I mean, what if our plane has to make an emergency landing because of engine failure in the North Pole? The thought of flying over the ocean isn't very nice either, which is unfortunate since that is what we'll be flying over the majority of the trip. Gulp.

Lord be merciful!!!

But, other than that, I am tickled pink about flying. Really.

Read more...

Animal Update

Remember Daisy, the cutie-pie-kid from last April?


She's back on the blog!
And she's all grown up! Cute, soft, and.....fat.


Ahem. She LOVES to eat. As much as we'll give her. Unfortunatly, that means she doesn't leave much for her poor mom, Pearl. And that is going to change.


Tomorrow, we are hauling mom and daughter to the goat breeders down the road - and we're leaving Daisy there for 2 weeks. And bringing Pearl home immediatly, since we're pretty sure she's already pregnant. That should give Pearl some time to catch up on her meals!!




This is Pearl....last year! I don't have any recent pictures of her, but she looks about the same. :) We're hoping that she'll give us some sweet doelings this year.

Read more...

Beyond the Cover

Wednesday, December 9, 2009


Jenna over at Feminine Farmgirl has started a new blog, Beyond the Cover. She, her brother, and a friend all discuss books they are currently reading, and you're welcome to join their discussions!

At this time, they're going through Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris. I've never read it myself, but have heard that it is a great book - and I have it reserved at the library!

Just click here

to visit the blog and join in the discussion!!

Read more...

What I've Been Doing Lately

So ~ what fills my days these days? (no pun intended :))
Lots!!

I have begun this wonderful book again - Hinds Feet on High Places. It is an excellent allegory (I love allegories!!) about a poor girl called Much-Afraid who travels to the mountains with the help of the great Shepherd. Through it all, she learns many great lessons and develops hinds feet on high places (Psalm 18:33).

Of particular interest, I have really been enjoying my Apologia Biology corse this year! They do a really great job of making it interesting.

And today, oh yummy day, I made two *delectable* items ~ chocolate covered pretzel sticks and chocolate almond bark.

Hey, it is Christmas.

But, actually, these treats were actually a gift for someone (who I won't name because they might be reading this blog post)! But, as is custom, I had to sample some.

I mean, I did make it! And, as we always say, "Better taste some to see if it's poisonous or not!"

Wouldn't it be simply awful to poison someone, and all because you didn't sample it? That's my rational when it comes to baking.

Always, always always sample.

On to other things....

This is Pearl, our 1 1/2 year old doe, who is hopefully pregnant again. If all goes well, we'll be expecting little goat babies next April! (I hope she gives birth on my birthday ~ what a fun surprise!)


If you remember, Pearl gave birth to just one little girl last spring, Daisy. Daisy will be pregnant in a few months, as well.


And that's it for now!

What's been filling your days these days? :)

Read more...

Drawing Near to God

Thursday, December 3, 2009




"But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all Thy works."

~Psalm 73:28

"Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you...."

~James 4:8a

I love these verses because of what meaning they hold - drawing near to God.

It is good to draw near to God ~ and He will draw near to you, if you do the same to Him.

I think sometimes we create the wrong mental image of God. He is not some mysterious Being Who is much to lofty and high to care about you; and He's not hard to find or talk to, either. If you look throughout the Psalms, as well as the Old Testament, you will find many, many attributes of God.

"The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all, He has compassion on all He has made."

~Psalm 145:8-9

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him."

~Psalm 34:8

When you start to read God's Word for yourself and find out just Who He is, you can discover how amazing, loving, and caring He really is.

"Not having time" is an excuse we all use. (Myself included!) But as I heard recently, you make time for what's important to you. We seem to make time for eating, sleeping, very necessary things......but isn't drawing near to God absolutely necessary, as well?

Drawing near to the Lord is the most important investment of time you will ever make. And it's an investment that ought to be made on a daily basis.

Read more...

Answering a Skeptic

Tuesday, December 1, 2009


So how many of you have had people ask you questions......like "Are all those kids really your siblings?" or "What are your plans, you know, what's your career going to be?" "Don't you want a boyfriend?"

I have had a LOT of those questions. And sometimes you can really feel cornered. Once I was asked one of these on-the-spot questions while in an orthodontist chair. (Talk about trapped!) As the hygenist pried inside my mouth, I frantically tried to come up with a good answer to her question about if I had a boyfriend, and if I planned on getting a job over the summer.

Today, during my violin lesson, I was asked by my teacher if I planned to go to college, and what I was going to "do". Was I going to do the "home thing" she asked. (The home thing?)
And so, I would like to answer skeptics the world round.

Answers...for Skeptics
Dearest Skeptic,


Yes, all these wonderful kids are indeed my siblings. They are not monsters, aliens, or nuisances. They are great fun, good company, excellent role models, and the furthest thing from awful you could think of. Much to your surprise, I actually enjoy being around them! Oh, did I mention we're adopting another little boy?

You ask about my "plans". I guess I haven't really decided what I'm going to do with my life. I won't be planning that out ahead of time. Not the whole thing, anyway.


Hmm? What was that about being unprepared for real life?

No, I'm not really worried about that. See, I'm not going to plan out my life right now, because God has already done that. Why bother? He's already decided what the plan is, so I'm not going to worry about it. Of course, as He leads, I'll follow, and I know that my life will be patterned after a Biblical model. I would like to get married, I'd like to have children. But only God knows for sure.

Oh, and if you've concluded that I must be one of those weirdos who does the "home thing", you're pretty off base. See, although my focus is definitely on home, and everything that embodies, I've traveled very far from home before. I'm what you'd call an educated person.

Lets see.....I've been to Mexico, California, Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, Nebraska, Arizona, Texas, South Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and oh, we're about to go to China, too. So, you could say I've been a few places.

Now, if you're wondering about my education, let me set your mind at ease. I am one of the fortunate few that have been homeschooled my entire life. (Gasp!) I've actually learned about little-known (and taught) things, like the Civil War, America's true beginning, who each of our 44 presidents were, and why the Great Depression really happened. I can tell you what Marxism, Socialism, Communism, and inflation is, and how it is affecting our country today. I can tell you what our government does (or what it doesn't) do, and I can tell you what the Civil War was really about. If you're wondering if I'm aware of important people today like Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, Rom Immanuel, and Hillary Clinton, wonder no more.

As for your question about my boring ho-hum life here on our farm, allow me to fill you in a bit. I do a lot of really fun things, really. Examples? Well......in the last few years, my activities have revolved around:


~film making
~music
~website construction
~animal husbandry
~riflery
~budgeting/managing finances
~cooking
~home ec.
~gardening


I'm not normally bored.

So, by now, maybe you're beginning to think I'm actually - normal. Maybe you've decided that homeschoolers aren't so odd after all. Well, before you come to your full conclusion, let me give you one last shocker:

I'm a Christian. Yes, I am! And gladly so! It's only because I'm a Christian that I hold these views. I know that my faith, my goals, my values, and perspectives on life are far from popular. You might be quite offended at them, in fact.




But, with all due respect, I don't care.


Because I am living for something greater than popularity, coolness, or normality. I am living for God. And, if you check your Bible history, those who lived for God weren't always the most popular. And they definitely weren't considered hip or cool.


In fact, to those around them, they might have been considered pretty odd ducks.

But they loved God with all their heart - and that's good enough for me.

Anyway, I hope this has answered all your questions. Please don't be offended. Please don't write me a nasty comment, either. And thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Rachel A. Krause

Read more...

About This Blog

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not
on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will
make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6

  © Blogger templates Newspaper by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP