the making of a billboard

I saw this on a friends blog (thanks Shauna:). I wanted to post it here for you guys and gals to see this insanity. It takes about a minute to watch.

Have a beautiful day in the Lord!

How To Render Lard

****Below are steps to render your own lard.****

When people hear the word "lard", they mostly think bad things- fattening, unhealthy, bad for you, etc. Lard has developed a bad connotation over the years and has been replaced by things like crisco, margarine, vegetable oil, and canola oil.

I recently told someone that I was going to try and render my own lard for cooking. To that they replied,"I thought you ate healthy. Lard does not sound healthy."

So, this is attempt to dispell the myths that all fats are bad for you. All fats are not created equal.

"Today heart disease causes at least 40% of all US deaths. If, as we have been told, heart disease results from the consumption of saturated fats, one would expect to find a corresponding increase in animal fat in the American diet. Actually, the reverse is true. During the sixty-year period from 1910 to 1970, the proportion of traditional animal fat in the American diet declined from 83% to 62%, and butter consumption plummeted from eighteen pounds per person per year to four. During the past eighty years, dietary cholesterol intake has increased only 1%. During the same period the percentage of dietary vegetable oils in the form of margarine, shortening and refined oils increased about 400% while the consumption of sugar and processed foods increased about 60%.2 " (The Skinny on Fats, Weston A. Price Foundation, see full article below)

Not too long ago, our grandmothers and their mothers all cooked and baked with pork lard and butter. In recent years, these two foods have been deemed "bad" fats and we've been dumbed down to thing that baking with margarine (which is one molecule away from plastic) and vegetable oil is better for us in some way.

As a matter of fact, when you hear the words "vegetable oil" one would think good things because of the word "vegetable". And "canola" certainly doesn't sound that harmful either.

Vegetable oil is made up largely of genetically modified (GMO) soy and corn. It is even used in paints, hydraulic fluid, and has various other industrial uses. Canola oil is made from a seed called the rapeseed. Sounds freaky, right? The name "canola oil" was given to make the oil more marketable. Rapeseed has high toxic amounts of erucic acid that is dangerous for human consumption. However, the hydrogenation of the rapeseed deems it safe for human consumption because it only has trace amounts of the erucic acid in it- yet its still in the oil. Canola oil is also an industrial oil that does not belong in the human body.

Here is a direct quote from an article "The Oiling of America" listed below to sort of sum this up for us.

"Most animal fats-like butter, lard and tallow-have a large proportion of saturated fatty acids. Saturated fats are straight chains of carbon and hydrogen that pack together easily so that they are relatively solid at room temperature. Oils from seeds are composed mostly of polyunsaturated fatty acids. These molecules have kinks in them at the point of the unsaturated double bonds. They do not pack together easily and therefore tend to be liquid at room temperature. Judging from both food data and turn-of-the-century cookbooks, the American diet in 1900 was a rich one-with at least 35 to 40 percent of calories coming from fats, mostly dairy fats in the form of butter, cream, whole milk and eggs. Salad dressing recipes usually called for egg yolks or cream; only occasionally for olive oil. Lard or tallow served for frying; rich dishes like head cheese and scrapple contributed additional saturated fats during an era when cancer and heart disease were rare. Butter substitutes made up only a small portion of the American diet, and these margarines were blended from coconut oil, animal tallow and lard, all rich in natural saturates."

To sum this up even further for us- our bodies know how to process naturally saturated animal fats and fats like lard, butter, coconut oil, and tallow. Foreign and ancient diets high in natural saturated fats have low risks of heart disease, high cholesterol, and cancers. Seed oils our bodies don't really know what to do with because of all of the extensive porcessing and hydrogenation to achieve the seed oils.

"The relative good health of the Japanese, who have the longest life span of any nation in the world, is generally attributed to a lowfat diet. Although the Japanese eat few dairy fats, the notion that their diet is low in fat is a myth; rather, it contains moderate amounts of animal fats from eggs, pork, chicken, beef, seafood and organ meats. With their fondness for shellfish and fish broth, eaten on a daily basis, the Japanese probably consume more cholesterol than most Americans. What they do not consume is a lot of vegetable oil, white flour or processed food (although they do eat white rice.) The life span of the Japanese has increased since World War II with an increase in animal fat and protein in the diet." (Skinny on Fats, Weston A. Price Foundation. See below.)

After seeking alternatives to the modern use of crisco, vegetable oil, canola oil, and margarine I discovered the unique benefits of cooking with pork lard and raw grass-fed butter.

Here is a chart of of the best sources of obtaining good fats in your diet (taken from "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon)

- Fresh Butter and Cream from pastured animals; preferrably raw
- Lard
- Beef, Lamb, Goose, and Duck fat from pastured animals
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Unrefined Flax Seed Oil in small amounts
- Coconut and Palm Oil

Second to Cod Liver, pork lard is among the top foods in obtaining Vitamin D in our diets. The key to benefitting from vitamin D in pork lard, is by rendering lard from pigs raised in natural sun light.

Commercially raised pigs never see the light of day. So, their lard would be low in Vitamin D, not to mention that animals store their toxins in their fat therefore making the diet of the pig extremely important during its life.

Lard is a stable fat that is largely used in baking and cooking. We have our butcherer save our pork fat (we sell this as well) so that we are able to render our own lard from our pigs raised on pasture and fed 100% USDA certified organic grains.

I've barely even scratched the surface here. The subject of fats in our diet is highly complex and somewhat scientific.

As with anything, you will run into information on both ends of the spectrum. Always consider your sources. If you are interested in looking into digging deeper into this subject, I encourage you to do so and not just take my word for it.

I've compiled a list of articles from the Weston A. Price Foundation- a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston Price, whose studies of isolated nonindustrialized peoples established the parameters of human health and determined the optimum characteristics of human diets.

The Skinny on Fats

The Oiling of America

The Great Con-ola

How to render your own lard on the stove top (you can also render in the oven):

1. Find a cute farmer willing to cut up your fat for ya!!! Just kidding. Not really:)

I have a hard time cutting up the fat since its a lot! So, Jason helps me with this step and for that I'm grateful!

Here is what it looks like in the package de-thawed.

2. Place cut up lard in a large stock pot. Turn to medium heat and let the pork fat do its thing. Keep in mind that it is pork, so a splatter screen might come in handy.

You will let pork cook on medium heat for about 45 minutes and stirring occasionally. Be careful not to overcook the pork fat because it will give your lard a "pork" flavor. Pork lard that is rendered correctly doesn't have a pork flavor to it.


3. Once the pork lard begins to float and look like this, continue cooking for about another 10 minutes watching it closely and stirring the pork fat.


4. Remove from heat once its done.

5. The steps I use for straining are....

Place a strainer in a bowl.

Triple line it with cheesecloth and pour pork fat and cracklings into the strainer lined with cheesecloth.


It should look like this after you've strained it.

6. Save your pork cracklings! These are good to use in bean recipes and cornbread recipes. Yum!

7. Use your jelly funnel to pour into glass jars.

8. Once it cools down to room temperature, place it in the fridge for storage. It should look creamy white once it has cooled down.

Hamburger Meat: The Hot Dog of Beef

(Feedlot in California)

I posted this below on our farm blog/website. However, I felt it was worth posting here too! I should be posting regularly again on my blog. I've figured out (not technically me, but my genius bro in law....thanks Aaron!!) why my Internet was less than poor here.

There was an article in The Houston Chronicle yesterday about commercially raised beef. The article focuses in on the slaughterhouse practices in factory farming.

Butcherers of large meat producing plants grind up various undesirable parts of the cow (instead of whole cuts) and can use multiple cows from different slaughterhouses to make up their hamburger meat.

This particular article spotlights a young woman who thought she was purchasing top quality meat labeled "American Chef's Selection Angus Beef Patties" and paid a premium price for the meat only to be stricken with E. coli and paralyzed from this deadly food-borne illness.

With many recent food borne related illnesses and recalls in the news, I feel its important to pay attention since the government does not have our best interest at hand when it comes to food that are commercially sold and processed.

Instead, the FDA and USDA are trying to crack down on small farmers by trying to pass certain legislation (read this article here) instead of tackling the bigger of the two beasts. I feel this is nothing other than an attempt to look as though they are "handling things" in regards to food. When in reality, most small farmers that we know exceed all government standards and regulations.

The article gives insight into the awful practices of the commercial meat industry and how the USDA is doing virtually nothing to combat the problem of the spread of E. coli throughout the commercial meat industry.

This quote is taken directly from the article.

"In August 2008, the USDA issued a draft guideline again urging, but not ordering, processors to test ingredients before grinding. Dr. Kenneth Petersen, an assistant administrator with the department's Food Safety and Inspection Service, said the department could mandate testing, but that it needed to consider the impact on companies as well as consumers.

“I have to look at the entire industry, not just what is best for public health,” Petersen said."

Another feedlot. "Hey Edna Earl....where is the grass??"

Scary, huh???? The "not just what is best for public health" part doesn't sit right with me. As a small farmer, our biggest consideration in raising food is always the consumer and their health. Always. We have structured our entire farming practices with that very notion.

The article makes a case to buy from local farms without even directly stating it. I don't even think its intent was to promote small farms. By simply stating facts, its obvious that consuming factory farmed and slaughterhouse butchered meat is not in our best interest.

Our farm is very particular in who we use to butcher our meats. We have established a wonderful relationship with a local small butcherer to ensure that we receive only our cows. Our cows are never held in a slaughterhouse. They go straight from our pasture and are slaughtered right when they arrive at the butcherer.

On the days our cows are butchered, we go to great lengths to make sure that our cows are butchered first before any other meats. The hamburger meat that we sell contains none of the "junk meat" that you would receive from commercial hamburget meat. We use on whole cuts of beef and then have our butcherer grind them up. Its a bit more costly to it this way since you are most likely grinding up what could be roasts and steaks. However, we prefer to do it this way over using less than desirable cuts of meats that the factory slaughterhouses would use to cut corners and save a buck.


If the USDA won't look out for our best interest, then we have to take it upon ourselves to do so. Factory farming is not the answer. You DO have a choice. To find a farm near you who has good farming practices you can visit http://www.eatwild.com/.


To view the article in the Chronicle, CLICK HERE.

Graphic yet telling, a commercial slaughterhouse pictured below. Its no wonder various cows and cow parts are getting mixed up in the ground beef.

Uncle D....we will miss you.

Jason's uncle passed away last Friday morning.

It still doesn't seem real.

This uncle, Uncle Durward, lived on the farm with us and his sweet wife Aunt Debbie. Over the last few years, we have grown extremely close to them since we have lived life alongside them.

He passed away in their home with all of us around him. We prayed many prayers and cried many tears as we watched him slip away from this earth and into the Kingdom of Heaven last Friday. We felt the presence of the Holy Spirit right there with us each step of the way. It was one of the most beautiful and most difficult things I've witnessed.

Aunt Debbie was truly by his side "till death us do part." I've learned so much from watching her serve him through this entire battle with cancer. She is an amazing woman and I'm blessed to have her as such a huge part of my life.


We will miss Uncle D so much. Kaylyn, our oldest, has cried many tears- as we all have.

She summed it up at the funeral by saying these words behind her tears,"Mommy, I'm glad he is in heaven. But, I'm going to miss him."

That is so true my sweet one. We KNOW where he is.

Death is hard and inevitable. One of the things that the pastor of the funeral said that resonated so beautifully in my heart was,"Let death be a teacher to you." Jason's sister wrote about this too. Her words are beautiful.

Death can be used to show us whether we belong to Christ or not.

We have confidence that Uncle Durward knew Jesus and sought after him throughout his life. This makes the journey of death a little less heavy because we KNOW where he is. The body we saw shortly after he made his exit from this world was but an empty shell.

We are going to miss so many things, Uncle D.

Your silly songs.

Apple fritters and Dr. Pepper for breakfast:).

The sound of your pick-up truck driving up and down the driveway as you came and went on your many journeys to church, to serve, to help.

Your uncontrollable laugh.

"That's powerful good."

You knocking on my door just to hold one of my babies.

Cashew cans with coins.

Plaid shirts and wranglers.

Watching you model before us one of the most GENEROUS hearts we've ever witnessed.

We love you so much and will miss you.

{a NeW AdVeNtUrE} cloth diapers

I made the plunge this week and ventured into the world of cloth diapers. I've been putting this off for quite some time mainly because I was overwhelmed at the many selections and the various methods. Cloth diapers are a big investment (and well worth it) so I wanted to be certain I was choosing the right ones.

I found the most helpful information HERE in this article at Passionate Homemaking. If you aren't a reader of this blog, you should be! Its one of the best and most practical blogs with tips on living naturally and frugally- definitely one of my favorites.

I went with one size pocket diapers. Pocket Diapers are a cloth diaper of convenience and are extremely low maintenance. They are super easy to change and put on. "One size" means that they will last from infant to potty training which was another added bonus for me. "Pocket Diaper" basically means that there is a pocket in the diaper in which you insert a liner to absorb the tee tee and poo.

That is the short of it.

**Sidenote: There is lots of "lingo" involved in the cloth diaper world. The sheer amount of terminology and not knowing what it meant was enough to make me want to run away.**

I chose to try two different types of one size pocket diapers. Most women I've talked to who use cloth diapers have an assortment of them and tend to favor one. So based on my many conversations and research, I went with these two.

Fuzzi Buns One Size
Happy Heinys One Size Pocket with Snaps

I purchased the ones with snaps because I've heard from various mamas that they wear better and the majority of the diaper companies have a lifetime warranty on the snaps.

So far, its going great! I'm so happy that I made the switch! The laundry has been manageable and I don't seem to even feel the slightest burden of them being time consuming.

Ruthie has only leaked a few times mainly because I'm a newbie at positioning the liners. I double up on the liners for bedtime now and once I did that, she hasn't leaked once. This was shocking to me because even with a regular diaper she usually leaked overnight.

I bought 8 of each kind and had 6 given to me (of the exact same brand I purchased:) to I have a total of 22 to circulate. That is a lot actually and should give me a few days in between washing.

Of the two I purchased, I have to say I favor the Fuzzi Buns over the Happy Heinys thus far. The Happy Heinys has LOTS of snaps- almost too many. As Ruthie gets older, I can see where I would really love the Happy Heinys. Since it does have lots of snaps, I can adjust it to fit perfectly. I love the Fuzzi Buns because they have adjustable bands all over (like the jeans for toddlers) that you can make them fit exactly right too. They have bands in the waist and also both legs. The snaps are just right and not too bulky.

Our next step is putting up a clothes line so the sun can do its thing by helping with drying and also disinfecting. But its been raining....which we are thankful for!

Another thing I plan on purchasing are disposable diaper liners once Ruthie begins solids. These are biodegradable liners that resemble a "dryer sheet". You basically put that in their diaper to catch the poo so that the poo comes off easily. Some of these liners you can even flush and they dissolve over time in the near future.

That is my .02 so far in cloth diaper world. I'm by no means an expert yet. Just a momma venturing into the world. Cloth diapers took up my "weird" factor up a notch. But, I'm now a fan of just embracing the weirdness instead of running from it. I'll post more about cloth diapers. As with anything, it was better for me to just jump in with both feet and figure it out as I go.

If you are considering making the switch to cloth diapers don't be afraid to find a momma who is using them and ask lots of questions. I've talked with a few gals and made phone calls right smack dab in the middle of changing Ruthie with probably the most obvious questions. My cloth diapering peeps have been more than helpful.

There is also a wealth of information online. Don't be overwhelmed. Just pick a few sites and jump in reading. Every mama has their own opinions and techniques. That is the beauty of gathering information from various sources. You can pick what will work for your family and discard methods that may not work so well for your lifestyle.

Since I'm a newbie, if you gals out there have any tips, I'm all ears! Throw them out there. We can all benefit from learning from each other.

Here are some questions:

What is your favorite brand of cloth diaper?

What is your method of washing?

What detergent do you use?

Oh, and we can't forget pics of little Miss Ruthie sporting her new diapers. She is smiling and laughing a lot now! I love this age. Ruthie is still extremely content and laid back. She is so sweet! She is teething right now (yes that's right) at 4 months. All of my girls have had their first tooth by 4 months. I've heard teething is hereditary so we seem to be keeping with the same pattern. I had no clue she was even teething until I stuck my hand in her mouth and felt the tiniest tooth about to poke through her bottom gums.

Here are some pics!

Smiling at Daddy!

Sucking on her hands

I love this face!

Diaper Bliss:)

{tHrIfTy FiNds}

I've been slowly changing out the decor in my kitchen and re-doing the accessories.

I'm wanting to go for a more mod country look instead of a retro country look. The color scheme I'm aiming for is green, white, black, and browns- very earthy and clean looking.

Since I tend to have this desire to want to re-do things around my home often, I'm all about thrifty finds.

MOPS in Brenham had a garage sale last weekend and I hit the jackpot! I even found a few gifts for people. I love a cute gift for $3!!!

There was a box full of old kitchen gadgets that were green and metal.

In the photo below, the white flower pot is filled with the cute gadgets that I purchased. I also got those biscuit cutters and metal measuring cups.

I had the jars and metal tray already so I re-purposed all of this to go with my new look.


I also purchased these metal measuring scoops and this white little pot below.


Here are the photos of my shelves by my sink that I have redone. I had all of this around the house except the apple topiaries ($5 at TJ Max) and frames.



I still need fabric for valances above the windows so if you have any cute ideas, send them my way! I don't know if I should go with brown, black, white or green.

My sister sent a blog my way last week that you should go check out! I love her style over at The Old Painted Cottage. This was my inspiration for my kitchen. A lot of our bones are the same. Her kitchen is beyond beautiful.

I have my computer back at my house, so I'm going to be posting regularly again!

Kaylyn's new found {LoVe}

Kaylyn has fallen in love with sewing.

I've started sewing things recently with a newly purchased machine and she has asked questions here and there.

But, after a visit to a sweet friends house and seeing her little girl sew, Kaylyn was inspired. We (Kaylyn and I) often leave these friend's house inspired in some way. Always. We came home that day and she HAD to sew something or she was going to bust.

So, we first decided what her very first project would be.

Kaylyn dreams big and jumps in with both feet so she went straight to sewing a skirt for her very first project.

Kaylyn also happens to be very good at figuring stuff out and trouble shooting so she went and got a skirt that she liked and traced it onto fabric twice- because you would need two pieces to sew them together to make a skirt. She totally figured that part out on her own. I sort of sat back and let her do her thing until she needed my help or needed to ask a question.

When we got to the sewing part, I was a little worried about how I was going to teach this precious girl how to sew. She didn't know her mama was NOT an expert seamstress and had practically sewn two things by hand and about a dozen on a machine.

I decided to learn with Kaylyn and will continue to learn with her as we both can learn and grow in the area of sewing for sure. We worked on the "whipstitch" technique and she picked it right up. She whipstitched the mess out of that skirt and had a beautiful creation when she was all done.

I don't have a picture of her skirt because she gave it away as a gift to a friend.

But, she did notice a hole in our pillow a few days ago.

She brought the pillow to me and said,"Mama, would you like for me to sew this hole up for you??"

How sweet! She went and got out her sewing stuff and did an excellent job. The pillow has its guts all sewn up.

I would LOVE to get THIS sewing kit for her from Land of Nod. I'm a huge fan of all things Land of Nod and this sewing kit happens to be pretty much adorable:)

Here are some photos.