Sunday, February 22, 2009

"Daddy Daughter Formal"

Click HERE for photos of the Seward Daddy/Daughter Date Night Formal! 130 Dads and 170 girls turned out for this annual event. The only disappointment was that there was no dance contest, which Scott won last year!! The photos from the actual dance are in Scott's phone. I will post them once I figure out how to get them on my computer.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Shaking The Hand That Feeds Us

There was no school today so the kids rode along with me to pick up milk. Our winter milk source, the Divino Nino Family Farm in Palmyra, Nebraska is about an hour and fifteen minutes from our house. Either I or our friend, Sue Briggs drives to this farm every Friday to pick up fresh, whole, unpasteurized, unhomogenized whole milk from grass-fed Guernsey cows. These pastured cows are never given antibiotics or any type of hormones and are fed a natural diet intended for cows, GREEN GRASS! YUM! You can see the whole role of film from the day

My Night Off!

I was feeling like I needed a little break so I decided to take the evening off from my normal mom duties. I had two choices this evening. Attend the Lincoln Le Leche League meeting or go to a free dinner sponsored by Purina to learn about horse nutrition! I can hardly face the LeLeche girls because Marshall is starting to wean so I opted for the Purina dinner. It turned out to be a great time and I met some very interesting people. Turns out this dinner was for "influential horse owners" in Nebraska so the "who's who" of horses turned out in full force. I think I got the invitation from my friend (who is the Purina rep) because she was nervous about attendance and wanted to fill some seats! So I got all dressed up in my bronze cowboy boots and my best jeans and had a great time! Marshall took a bottle from Scott for the first time ever! Woo-hoo!!




Monday, February 16, 2009

The "Diet" Mentality

Several people have asked me recently about the "diet" Scott and I are on. I try to explain that it's not a " diet", but instead "just the way we eat now", however that doesn't seem to convince them. This got me thinking about the whole "diet mentality" in general.

Isn't it funny when you think about it? We decide that we need to go on a diet because the way we normally eat has made us FAT or has made us SICK. So our plan is to STOP eating the way we normally eat and try eating a DIFFERENT way until we are no longer FAT or no longer SICK. But once we have achieved those goals, what do we do??? Most of us go right back to eating the way we did BEFORE we went on the DIET!

Why is it so hard for us to figure out that the way we NORMALLY eat is causing the problem in the first place and the problem is only going to return when we go off the diet?? Is it because we're addicted to the foods that make us fat and sick? Is it because if we weren't fat and sick we would have nothing to talk about with our friends and family?? Is it because our health care system and the USDA sets us up to be nothing but fat and sick? Is it because we live such hurried, stressful lifestyles? Is it because we don't exercise enough?

I've pondered all of these things and I've come to the conclusion that being fat and sick is very much a cultural experience here in the United States. When you combine obesity and disease you are very much in the minority if you are NOT fat and/or sick. In fact, if you eat healthy, exercise and don't experience any medical problems, you're down right "counter-cultural".......and who wants to hang out with someone who is counter-cultural?

I mean seriously....let's think about it. We all know doughnuts are not good for us, but what do we serve every Sunday at church? WHY do we do that? Because it's a cultural norm, right? We all know chips, cookies, pastries and candies are terrible for us, but what do we serve our sick and overweight friends at every party? WHY? Because you're NO FUN if you serve vegetables and fruit, right? Sadly, our culture dictates to us what is acceptable and what is unacceptable when it comes to food and I, for one, am tired of all that.

Our family doesn't have all the answers for the perfect "diet" but we do trust in three things. We believe we should eat food that God intended man to have as food, we believe we shouldn't alter the food that God intended for us to eat and we believe we shouldn't let any one food become our God. So if by applying these three principles we appear as counter-cultural to you, then praise God!!

What The Bible Says About Healthy Living
The Rosedale "Diet"

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Marshall's First Birthday

I can hardly believe today is Marshall's first birthday! When he took his first steps on February 4th, I was both happy and sad to be watching the last "first steps" of my babies. This past year has most certainly flown by! Marshall continues to be a content, patient and happy baby. He can give us signs for "all done", "more" and "milk" and is eager to learn more. Getting the rest of the family to use the signs with him is the bigger challenge.















Grandma and Grandpa Seevers and Shawn joined us for the celebration. Gracie made her cake decorating debut here. I'm not sure if the goal was neat handwriting or getting the most amount of frosting on the cake! Marshall's cake was sugar and grain free, made from almond and coconut flour.

































Scott and his dad are shown here enjoying an after-dinner game of shuffleboard. So much for my plans to finish the basement this winter!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Marshall's First Steps!

Marshall took his first steps this evening in front of the whole family! A little later, somebody (Gemma) let Marshall into the peanut butter. I guess it's safe to say he doesn't have a peanut allergy! You can see video of him walking here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVMcjv7vwT0
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Monday, February 2, 2009

Is it spring yet??

The nice weather had us out to the farm learning to load and unload horses into a trailer, which I will have to do on a weekly basis come March! This is Gemma with her horse, "Rocky". Rocky is a 25 year old (maybe older) gelding that Gemma will use for Pony Club her first year. He's about as safe as a horse can be with a 6-year old! Not the most attractive guy but we love him.

Luke's Funny Face

This is NOT my child!!!......Okay......actually it is.
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