On Sunday, Naomi and I took the camera outside. We needed to take Areli up on the hill to be with the goats, and brought the camera to amuse ourselves. 
Enjoy.
To view more of the photo shoot, visit my Facebook album.
Welcome to Chapter 1 of the “Real Food Nutrition and Health Study!” Below are a couple of my favorite questions and my answers. I hope you’ll share the impressions you got from the reading here too!
Do you agree that we should shift our focus from nutrients to whole foods? Why or why not?
I do not agree. 
All joking aside, I agree. 
If we single out nutrients in a certain food, chances are, that nutrient doesn’t work by itself. It works together with other substances in the food to benefit your body. God put beta-carotene in the carrot along with all the other nutrients! He didn’t isolate it! So we should consume foods the way He put them together. We should trust the way He did things. He knows what He’s doing, after all!
Why should we prepare foods traditionally?
Well, traditionally prepared foods have been around forever. And the people back then were healthier than we are now! The people back then had time to figure out all the kinks in preparing food. So who should we trust? Your great-great-grandmother or the food industry who would lose billions and billions of dollars if they resorted to old methods? We should prepare foods the traditional way.
I enjoyed this lesson because… Well, because I enjoy learning something new! 
It was sort of hilarious reading about the ups and downs with eggs and butter. I came away with a new understanding of why the food industry doesn’t change. I knew that they would probably lose a lot of money, but it shocked me to see exactly how much. 
*steps off podium* Your turn!
Visit my mom’s or sister’s blogs, where they also have discussions going for chapter 1!
Naomi now embarks on a grand mission full of mystery, surprise, and…metal. Her goal: to have perfect teeth!
In other words, she now has a mouth full of metal. The orthodontist put on a lingual arch and installed headgear today.
I had an appointment today, also. I have dispensed of my right elastic and now wear my left elastic at night only! Yay! The orthodontist has scheduled my braces-removal party (not really!) for in 6 months or less. Talk about an awesome Christmas present.
So that’s it. Bye!
We have a puppy! Her name is Areli (uh-REL-ee), which means “lion of God,” and she’s amazing.
She’s a Boerboel x Kangal cross. The Kangal breed comes from Turkey while the Boerboel comes from South Africa. She’ll be a big dog, and you can definitely tell from the size of her paws! Her father, the Kangal, was huuuuge. If he stood up and propped his paws up on Baba’s shoulders, he’d be at least a head and a half taller. Baba’s just under 6 feet. Areli’s mother, the Boerboel, is big, but shorter. She is more muscular while Areli’s father is leaner and big.
We’ve been training her according to Jan Fennell’s method, based on the hierarchy of a wolf pack. It’s working!
She came with fleas, unfortunately, so we’ve given her a couple baths. The fleas seem to have disappeared!
The goats are still freaked out and Paisley will butt her to the ground, but Areli’s relationship with them seems to be getting better. Areli and the ducks have a long way to go. Puppy likes to sneak up on them, leap into the air, and chase them all around. 
We’d like her to chase them off the front porch, but to then leave them alone. Discipline!
To view more of the bathing pictures, visit my Facebook album.
I’m sure you’re all wondering what happened to Paisley. After all, I haven’t posted in ages! Well, she gave birth on the 29th of July, the day before my birthday. But the baby buckling got stuck in the birth canal and despite our efforts, suffocated. 
Naomi and Mom had their hands in there and eventually got him out, but it was too late. 
All the other babies are fine. We’re bottle-feeding Daisy’s babies because we don’t think they’re getting enough milk. They looooove it. 
We’re milking Paisley, but only on one teat. Her other teat has a bump in it that prevents milk from squeezing out… She’s had that bump since last winter. It’s really weird…
Gingham is due on September 11. Pray for an easy and successful birth!