1.5 - 2 lbs. flank steak ? (i just used whatever we have, chuck roast maybe)
2/3 c. worcestershire sauce
2/3 c. soy sauce
1 T honey
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. liquid smoke
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
MIX in a gallon sized zip lock bag.
(it's a little spicy, you could probably omit the red pepper).
I thawed our roast for a few hours and thinly sliced into long strips (i cut as thin as i possibly could). You want the meat to be slightly frozen so you can cut it easier.
Place stips of meat into the marinade and place in fridge for 3-6 hours
Then remove the meat from the brine and pat dry. Evenly distribute the strips onto the dehydrator trays. Top with 1 empty filter. Dry the meat for 8-12 hours. (mine took 10 hours). Once it's dry, you can store in a cool dry place for 2-3 months.
Your jaw will get a nice workout!
He doesn't fly away or make any noise. It's interesting to watch the guineas follow him around. 
We can only get so close till he starts walking away. But how halarious.
Another great way to get my kids outside, in the damp, cold, rain! Thanks Lucy! 
Saturday i had a twin babies shower for Nadene! She found out it's boys, which i'm very excited about. She got a lot of neat things, encouragement, and fellowship that afternoon. I'm happy to walk with her through the whole twin experience.
I was hoping Adam would have a delay this morning! I'm all about delays, don't want too many cancelled days though. 
Don't let the corny title scare you. 52 things kids need from mom is a very good book! Angela is a great author, i've read her stuff before. Her suggestions (and they are just suggestions) make sense, and aren't overwhelming. Just good old encouraging reminders of what our kids need from us. She uses examples from her experiences which is fun to read. Some of things are so simple, like thing #4 "watching them till they are out of sight". I started doing that with Adam. I have always taken him to the door when i drop him off at school. But instead of just turning around and leaving right away like i used to, i watch him until he's turns that corner inside the school and i can't see him anymore. He actually turns around and looks at me right before he's out of sight. I hope that makes him feel good to see me stand there watching him until he's gone. It only takes an extra 10 seconds of my time each day.
(alfalpha sprouts, flowers, salad mix, grass-just for fun-, tomatoes, and herbs).
It happened. The hair...gone.
We kept the top long, so it wouldn't be such a drastic change. Still looks kinda out of control here, it was windy :)
clowns:
animals: 
lots of walking:
Brad and Clay...3 years apart. 1 pound apart.
Machinery! a fav....
We stuck around for square dancing, Lloyd and Sue were in it again. Smoker clan, can you see them??
Clay liked the square dancing: 
We're starting to learn our way around there, which is nice. good times. 
Then to the owner. 
I'm sure Tractor grandma was glad we picked this day for the sleepover, so she could witness this tame hawk!
Ah, it's over. Don't get me wrong, i love Christmastime; get togethers, traditions, advent, songs, memories, etc. I just think it gets to be a little much and am always ready to get back to regular life! We did have a great Christmas, the morning was spent at home and then the rest of the day with my family. The kids played together while the rest of us got to sit around and chat. 
I learned something new this year in the boys preschool advent (is that sad?) I never thought about the symbolism with the shepherds being the first visitors of Jesus and Jesus being our Shepherd. Did i miss that somewhere? I love that. God just thinks of everything, doesn't he? There's no way we can comprehend it all, but i marvel at who He is.
When Clay was born, and the twins visited us in the hospital they both kept exclaiming "He's tame!" "He's not wild like the kitties!" "He lets us pet him!"
A picture of me, just prior to confessing to firetruck #1:
They were way too nice, and basically offered to do a photo shoot after the 4 fire trucks, 2 police men, and ambulance crew all got notified it was a false alarm. Rose was on that :) Clay will never remember this, but we're not going to let him forget it anyway! Adam already has a plan to bring duct tape to next year's dinner and tape the alarm so Clay won't do it again. I'm almost positive we'll be doing that.
Last thing, i promise...on my mind right now. Adam is suffering from being a brother to twins. (and newly nicknamed "fireball"). He's never said a word about it, but i just "know" so don't argue with me :) He is constantly overlooked when we are out and about. Example of this, last year we went to storytime at the library and we were late (imagine that), when we walked in the lady in charge said "i was wondering if the twins were coming today"....What do you think that did to this mother hen? I felt like saying, "um, Adam is here too!". These things happen regularly. And even with people who he knows, and see him often inadvertently overlook him. I understand though, there's almost always 2 boys talking at the same time, and Ben, Brad, and Clay are all louder then Adam, so who wins? the one you can hear! i watch his face though as he gets interrupted by a brother and the attention is moved from him to the brother. i sense his self esteem going downhill and his fear of rejection is making him quieter then i think God intended for him to be. He wants attention just as much as the rest of them but doesn't know how to get it. I'm happy though that when it comes to the 3 of them playing together, the twins adore him and he's rarely the odd one out during playtime. So anyway, it's kinda a weird situation that most kids will never be in, and i hope it becomes a non issue at some point. But it's been a growing concern of mine for some time now. 
