Yandles in search of local food!

Before the hunting details, I wanted to show off recent pictures of the family!! We are so blessed - thank you, God! There's more at our web album!



Just wanted to pass along a special at Whole Foods...grass-fed beef for $3.99 this Friday, Sept. 3 only!
http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2010/08/sale-on-grass-fed-ground-beef-93-only/

If you're curious about my inspiration...read on...

I'm not much of an activist but I'm compelled to make some changes after watching the movie "Food Inc." this past weekend!! Join me and let's demand safer foods for our family by buying local meats, dairy, and produce!! Heck, start a small garden by your back door or window and try your hand at growing your own! We started this summer with our very first garden...just three small tomato plants, several herbs, and two bell pepper plants!! Man, God has blessed our little seeds and created a bountiful harvest...wish I had pictures to attest to our 7 foot tall tomatoes and they're still producing!!

Shamus and I are discussing how we can start buying more local or organic foods but still stay within our small budget for groceries...we're gonna get creative and see what happens!! :-)

Ideas...
1 - subscribe to mailing lists for coupons/discounts of organic grocers, and local farmers/markets
2 - buy one extra-large roast/ham/poultry that's local/organic and let that be our only meat for the week; you can even boil down the carcass to freeze stock for soups in the winter...yum!!!! talk about saving money...broth/stock can get expensive not to mention processed!
3 - keep encouraging my parents/grandparents to keep their chickens, gardens, and livestock and partake in their bounty...even help out with the process of planting/harvesting as an incentive! We'll be learning too!! Heck, Shamus even is inspired to really hunt this fall/winter to bring home a deer for the freezer...yay!!!
4 - shop at weekly farmer's markets in the area*
5 - buy direct from farms within 30-50 miles*
6 - join a food co-op*

*lists found at Harry's (in store) or at http://www.locallygrown.net/ , http://www.localharvest.org/

Join me in striving for a more healthy family...i'd love to see more homesteads in our generation!!!

Jana

It's a girl! Joanna Canady Yandle

Shamus and I are proud to announce the birth of our beautiful baby girl - surprise!! Joanna Canady Yandle born on Thursday, May 20 at 2:28 in the afternoon at Atlanta Medical Center downtown. She weighed 7lbs 10 oz and was 20 in long. Mom and baby are doing great! We returned home Friday night from the hospital. Since I haven't shared our new home address, it's
2261 Goodrum Lane
Marietta, GA 30066

Pictures, praises and birth story are below!! Feel free to pass along!

Love ya'll and thanks so much for your prayers!!

Link to online pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/janayandle/JoannaCanadyYandle

Praise God for:
healthy baby
smooth and uncomplicated labor and delivery
perfect timing to allow grandparents to arrive all with a good night's rest
less stressful waterbirth - yep she was born in the water!! :-)
renewed strength from the Lord
great nurser already!! :-) :-)
very strong and alert baby girl
shamus jr has loved her immensely and has been very gentle and helpful with her

Birth Story:
Mom woke up Thursday morning at 4:30am with contractions and vivid dreams of having a baby boy with very alert and captivating dark eyes. By 5am, Mom knew these contractions were the real deal and told Dad that today would be the day! We laid in bed and timed the contractions for 30 minutes just to be sure - they were already 8 minutes apart. At 5:30 we called Jana's parents so they would have time to drive from Millen and help us with Shamus Jr. We were thrilled that God timed the labor so that we all had a chance to get a good night's rest!!
By 6am we were both up cooking breakfast and cleaning to pass the time. Mom decided it was time to clean the ceiling fan blades so that was her second labor project after pressing a patch into a pair of Dad's favorite shorts. Shamus Jr. greeted us around 7:30 and we spent the morning watching Thomas the Train while folding clothes, doing more cleaning, and counting contractions all the while. We noticed the contractions times would change with my activity level so we were wondering if this labor would be very different from Shamus Jr. and last much longer.
By 9am the intensity started to increase and I was wondering if it were a good idea to wait for my parents before leaving for the hospital but we decided I was more comfortable at home so we continued with our plan. Gammy and Papa arrived at 10:30 and we spent an hour enjoying Shamus open his new Thomas the train set and other goodies for him and Baby Joanna.
At 11:30 we kissed everyone goodbye and drove to the hospital with a pit stop at Planet Smoothie. The contractions were very uncomfortable and I realized I needed to concentrate better on my breathing. We arrived at the hospital at 12:30 - yep traffic was pretty bad midday so we had to bypass the interstate for a bit. Once checked in at the hosptial, we were excited to hear that we were already 7cm. Mom then waited patiently as they setup our labor room with birthing pool. After laboring for an hour in the tub, Jana quietly prayed that she was ready to push, hoping that the end of labor would come real soon. To her surprise, the next contraction she had the urge to push and her midwife encouraged her to go with the feelings. So on her knees and leaning on the side of the tub, mom pushed through 3 more contractions and Joanna was gently born. She was very active and wiggling around. Daddy was the first one to see the sex and announce out loud "It's a girl! It's a girl!" Daddy was excited to have a little girl and mommy was surprised since she thought it was a boy toward the end of the 9 months. Praise God for another healthy blessing from above and the strength to experience a natural childbirth.

Shamus Jr celebrates Easter and turning 2!

Lots of changes have occurred for the Yandle family since the beginning of 2010! We've managed to move from our apartment in Smyrna to a beautiful home in Marietta...a wonderful, unexpected blessing from God! Another unexpected blessing came out of Shamus' car wreck (he didn't get hurt) when his car was totaled out and allowed us to upgrade to a...minivan! Woohoo! Baby Yandle #2 we're ready for you!!
Shamus Jr. turned 2 on April 3 and we celebrated with pizza at our new favorite restaurant in Atlanta, Antico!! Shamus really enjoyed blowing out his candles atop strawberry shortcake made with love by Mommy, Gammy and Daddy!
Easter was a special day with Shamus' grandmother joining us for church and celebrating Shamus Jr's birthday with the extended Yandle family at the Marietta Diner. Yummy!
Check out all the pics online!
We're patiently awaiting arrival of Baby Yandle #2...due May 19th! We'll keep you posted!

Recent videos of Shamus Jr

Stunt man Shamus Jr! He was having a fun time jumping off his chair so we grabbed the camera to capture it.


Here is another video we took of Shamus Jr right before Christmas. We were baking a birthday cake for Jesus.

Merry Christmas from The Yandles

Shamus Jr is officially a walker now

Well, Shamus Jr is officially walking now! He is getting the hang of it and can walk and turn around and walk back. He is so excited that he can walk. He smiles and laughs while he is doing it. Check out the video below

Shamus' 1st Birthday!

Well, this past Friday was Shamus Jr's 1st birthday. We had a great time. We grilled out and some other really good food. I made a big cake for everyone and then a little smash cake for Shamus. Here is a video of him eating it.




Here is another funny video of Shamus Jr after he opened all of his presents. He got a little too excited. :-)