For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29:11-14

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Friday, June 24, 2011

Wow! 21 years already?


How time flies! Today, 21 years ago, I gave birth to my first baby. He was an 8# 13 oz bundle of questions and animation. There has never been a dull moment with this one and for that we are truly thankful. He has kept us guessing, made us laugh, made us cry, made us ever proud and drove us nuts at times. :) Anthony has always been inquisitive, asked questions until we thought we'd go crazy....we were ever so thankful when this boy learned to read, we could direct him to a book and say "read about it". I don't think he appreciated that much, but he learned to look for answers to his many questions.

See..never a dull moment! Last day of high school.

While things have not always been perfect in our lives and in our relationship, he is such a joy, such a blessing! Anthony has an amazing heart, he loves, works and plays with every part of his being. Much like his mama. :)

Anthony and his dad at his boot camp graduation in San Diego. Trying to keep a strait face was proving difficult..my handsome guys! Love them!

This boy has challenged me beyond anything I ever expected as a parent, he has stretched me, we have grown up together. He was born just shy of my 20th birthday, so young to have a baby, but it was my dream come true to be married to the man of my dreams and be a mama.

What a smile....taken at a Portland Beaver's baseball game.

I don't regret starting our family at such a young age, but I often wish I could go back and talk to that young girl and tell her some of what I know now. I know there are many things I could have told her...but not so sure she would have heard it all, or received it. Guess that's why we live and learn, grow with each passing experience in life.

Anthony's graduation

Being a mom has been my lifelong dream, having my kids has been a continual blessing! Can't wait to see what they all become in their lives. Where the Lord will lead them...how He will use them!

Being the mama to an adult child is such a different world. He's working and trying to support himself, learning what it takes to be a man in this crazy world. Mistakes are made and learning the hard way often happens, but it's exciting to see him grow more with each passing week.

Our Marine! So proud of him..isn't he handsome in his uniform? :)

Watching your adult son fall in love and find himself thinking about someone other than just himself is another blessing as a mama! Anthony has been dating a lovely girl for over a year now and we have grown to love her like she is one of our own. She's so good for our boy...often keeping him a bit more grounded than he would be otherwise. :) It's been amazing getting to know her and seeing how she fits into this crazy group of people we call our family. We all think that he has made a very good choice in Rachael!
This is Anthony with his girl, Rachael. Her sister took this amazing photo of them and shared it with me (thank you Jen). I think they make a beautiful couple...love them both!

Happy birthday to our oldest boy! You are an amazing young man with amazing potential...you can do and be ANYTHING in this life! We love you...so very much and we are SO proud of all that you have become. Keep asking questions, keep learning, keep growing! It's a process that never stops in this life. We love you!
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Friday, June 17, 2011

Thankful for Friday!

It's been a while since I last posted a "Thankful" post. Not that I haven't felt thankful, but time has been getting the best of me. There always seems to be more to do around here than I have hours in my day. :) Not all bad, mind you, just busy.

So, what am I thankful for this week? Oh so many things...but I'll only list a few. :)

This amazing man I married and our beautiful calf. My hubby has been such an incredible support to me...my best friend, my champion, my encourager and he's so supportive of my dream here...HE encouraged me to buy Daisy Girl. I'm still in shock every time I go to the barn and see her. Some girls hope for her man to buy her diamonds and pearls...I just wanted a cow. :) 

 I have some amazingly talented and awesome kids! Our second oldest son wanted to build a cider press, so he set to work on planning and with a little help from my hubby, he finally finished it this past week. He made a batch of cider right away, turned out GREAT! I am continually amazed at what this kid comes up with.
Our daughter has been playing with my camera, I'm loving the pictures she has taken of various flowers around our yard. So pretty! She's got a creative flair, I'll have to plan a post around some of her photos. She's been learning to edit photos and enhance some of her already stunning pictures. It's been fun to see her perspective and take on some of the beautiful sites around our place.
 
 Our lilac was such a welcomed sight this spring. The fragrance was amazing, made me wish we had even more of these around our place. I had intended to pick some and bring that wonderful fragrance indoors, but never got around to it. We did enjoy them while they were in bloom...that season never seems like it lasts long enough though.

We've been so blessed, living here and pursuing a dream. I am continually amazed at all that we are able to do, though in my frustrating moments I'll admit to feeling like we will never do enough. If I can keep my focus on how far we've come, however, I see the many steps we've taken here to providing so much for our family. The beauty here is hard to miss...and I often forget that even THAT is a blessing. Not just the eggs, produce and such that we can help to bring to our table, but to be able to look out our windows to a sight like the lilacs blooming or the birds that frequently visit our yard. It's all a blessing and something to enjoy. God's handiwork, the beauty of our landscape...how often we miss that in our rush to "do" and mark things off our list.

We are blessed!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Changes.....

It's hard to believe that it's already June 13th! Where is the month going? We've been so busy around here. So much to do to wrap up the school year...finally done...Yay!!! In addition to school, we've been focusing on the garden, selling a few goats and adding a new resident to the barn. 
A new calf!!! 


 This is Daisy Girl. She's a 3 to 4 month old Miniature Jersey/Milking Shorthorn cross heifer. Her sire was a full sized Jersey bull, so we do have the potential of having a bigger than a mini cow.


She is  as sweet as can be and is adjusting to live away from her mama quite well. We are all enjoying her and can't wait to see her grow and have her own calf....and give us lots of milk!


We took her out of her stall yesterday to give her some fresh air and a bit of a walk. Our pasture and fencing is not quite finished, so she's being held in a stall in the barn until we have a safe place for her to run free. I think she liked the sunshine and fresh grass. She is learning to follow our lead and walk with a rope nicely. We are hopeful that she will do well here.


Our family is thrilled to have added Daisy Girl to our homestead and can't wait to see her roaming free in the expanded pasture. As much as I love my goats, Daisy has a very special place here. She is a keeper, for sure! We are all loving the "cow sounds" that come from the barn. The goats, however, are not so sure about her. They'll adjust, I'm sure.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Busy days...

Life here has been a big blur lately, so much that needs doing, so much that doesn't get done....updating my blog is one of those things that has been left undone.

We've been busy with baby goats, putting in a garden, trying to stay on top of the weeds (the weeds are winning in some areas of our place), wrapping up our school year and trying to enjoy every ray of sunshine between the showers. It's been one WET spring...some say the wettest in 100 years, I for one believe them! The upside to all of the rain is things are growing...huge change from last year's spring where most of the garden and plants around it drowned in the rain and cold. It's been a bit warmer than last year, I think, and that has helped things grow. Gives me hope for our garden this year.

Another project that has demanded some attention is our pasture...we are expanding it! YAY!!! The hope is that we'll have our electric fencing up and functional in a matter of weeks, between my husbands busy work schedule and the rain, we are working slower than I would like. The fence posts are set and waiting the wire...all in due time. :) Once this pasture is ready, our goats will have even more forage to enjoy and hopefully will save us a bit on our feed bill this summer.

Our goat numbers are going to be going down soon, Lord willing. We've decided to downsize our herd and focus more on the smaller breed, Nigerian Dwarf. Our beloved Minikin will stay...she is the queen of the barn and none of us could bare the thought of her leaving. She'll live out her days here. Tinkerbel and her babies will all be sold. The hope is that we can cut back and save for a Jersey milking cow. While I LOVE my goats, we don't enjoy the milk as much as we do the cows milk....so we are transitioning our focus a bit. Who would have thought it would be so hard to sell a silly goat....some think I'm nuts, but I simply love my goats.

We've raised them for 7 years and they have become apart of our place here, apart of our lives. While I don't want to raise them for milk, we will keep the smaller Nigerian Dwarfs to fill the "goat need" and give us an animal we can breed and sell each year. If it doesn't work out, we are out very little in the end and have much of love in the mean time from these sweet animals. :) Thankfully, my husband is fully on board....he knows how much I love my goat babies. :)

Now the search for just the right cow for us will begin. I don't see us adding this animal to our place any time soon, but it is on the horizon...maybe in a year? I think we'll have a steer before we have a cow, and that's fine. Beef in the freezer is always a good thing!

So, while we've been busy planting, weeding, schooling and trying to keep up with the other household chores, it is suddenly June! Where did May go? My goodness! Praying your spring has gone well, that your gardens are growing and that you have a bright and sunny summer coming your way! School is out, for the most part in just a matter of days here. While we will be doing some school through the summer, we are all ready for the summer break. :)

Friday, April 8, 2011

Thankful for Friday!!

Here I am again, WAY past due on a blog post. Seems to be the trend these days. :) Life just keeps on moving forward and keeping me busy. Not all bad, but I do miss posting more often...I need to make a more conscious effort to schedule the time. :)

This week we've been enjoying Spring Break. No classes, no running, no school work to stay on top of! We've not been completely lazy though....we started off our "break" last Thursday with emptying out my pantry area and prepping the kitchen for a fresh coat of paint. I'll post about that later on with before and after pictures. :) Let's just say, it was a TON of work. The rest of our "break" we've spent deep cleaning a different area of our house each day. It's been nice to see some order in areas that rarely see it. We haven't gotten as much done as I would have liked, but that's OK. Having the "break" has been nice regardless.

So, what am I thankful for this week? OH MY! Where to start! So many blessings....so little blog space. :) I'll name a few....

  • Having a break from the constant running we do for school. It's a schedule that is unavoidable at this point in time, but can be draining. 
  • My seedlings that are growing nicely in my dining room. 
  • A hard working man who does so much for our family...my best friend and husband. :) 
  • Our pantry that is well stocked, even now at the end of the season. 
  • Two baby goats that are growing to be healthy and strong!
  • A mama goat who until this kidding has been as head strong and nasty as they come...often sitting ON MY HANDS while I tried to milk her....picture a 200 pound goat sitting on the milking bucket with your hands inside, not a pretty picture. This time around, she has been sweet from the moment the kids were born. She is raising her own kids this time and it seems to have totally changed her...I've wondered several times if someone didn't come in and switch goats on me. :) 
  • The half gallon of beautiful milk I get from our mama goat (Tinkerbel) now that we separate her from her babies at night. Every day she's given me nearly a half gallon, I'll be making farmhouse cheddar from her milk this weekend! 
  • SUNSHINE for today...we've been enduring rain, snow, hail and cloudy skies for weeks now. Today we are supposed to be near 60 and have almost two full days of sunshine! My clothesline is going to get a work out today! FINALLY!!!
It's been a great week off...sure, we've had some bumps along the way, but all in all it's been a welcomed "break"! 

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Future of Food

This video was shared on another blog...several actually...and after spending the last two days watching parts of it as I could, I knew I had to share it as well. If you've watched it, GREAT! If you haven't, take some time to watch this. It's heartbreaking to know that greed, love of money and short sightedness has brought about so much destruction to the food that GOD made to nourish and strengthen us from day to day. Man, in our arrogant nature, has decided to play God...how foolish we can be.



I pray that after watching this, you are not left feeling hopeless. We do NOT have to continue to support companies and corporations that care nothing for our future or about what is ultimately right. They are out for more money....my goal is to not give them any of mine. Is it a hard choice....YES...does it mean more work for me...Yes! I'm not afraid to work harder for what I have...if I did, I wouldn't be living this life...

"Living the Dream!"

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Life...just keeps happening!

Good morning! I know, it's been a long time since I posted anything on my blog. Life just keeps happening and time seems to be in short supply these days. Must mean spring is on it's way to our neck of the woods. :)

We've had a very buys couple of weeks, but much of it has just been day to day life. Nothing noteworthy really. Our second oldest son, Brandon, took the entrance exam for the local community college a couple of weeks ago. THAT was noteworthy for sure! Here, the school district or the state will pay for juniors and seniors in high school to attend classes at the college to earn their Associates Degree upon graduation. The program is called "Running Start". Thankfully, he passed the test and will be taking classes there in the fall! SO exciting for him. Not sure what he'll go for as far as a focus for his degree, but we'll narrow that down in the weeks to come. So proud of him!

On the homesteading front, we were blessed with our first kidding of the season. Tinkerbel, my Nubian doe with an enormous attitude and personality had a doe and a buck, all on her own (I'll share pictures later, haven't had a chance to get any really good ones yet). When Brandon went down to the barn to do chores, he found the two little ones standing with their mama. Amazing! They are so sweet and she is being a really good mama. Have to admit that I was a bit nervous about her abilities, we've never let her raise her own kids. We've always bottle fed, but this year our life just begged for them to be raised by the mama. So far, she's doing better than I expected. YAY! After our horrors of last years kidding season, this was a HUGE blessing...an uneventful delivery. Thank you Jesus!

Our garden is taking shape. No, haven't planted anything besides peas yet in the main garden, and they have not sprouted as of yesterday. Still too cold I think. That crop may have to be replanted, sadly. We did get another grape this last weekend and got it planted. I also picked up 24 more strawberry starts to add to our planters. This time around I got a variety that will produce a big crop all at once. All of my other berries are the kind that produce a few berries all season long. Makes it hard to get enough for jam, but good for just eating. We'll see how they do.

Everything around here is sprouting, getting leaves, growing and looking more like winter is over. We've seen days and days of rain. The weather report this AM said that we've had 21 days of rain this month....not the best start to our spring, but I guess we need it. I sure would love to see some days of sunshine though. My clothes line is begging to be used!

In a day or two, I'll try to post some pictures of our newest goat babies and maybe of our spring colors. No flowers here yet, but everything is getting fresh green leaves. :) After a long winter, it's a welcomed site!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Thankful for Friday!!

What a week! Have you struggled this week to find Joy? Finding it hard to be thankful? So much out there tells us that things are hard, bad and gonna get worse....even here I've talked about it. Yesterday, I had to fill up my gas tank in my Yukon. I LOVE that vehicle, but dread filling the tank with today's prices, let me tell you! Gas here has gone up $.20 in just a couple of weeks. I heard one report yesterday that it went up $.11 in ONE NIGHT locally. Does that just fill your being with dread? Do you see dollar signs and feel a cold sweat just thinking about how to continue to fill up your tank to do what you need to on a daily basis to survive? UGH! It makes me want to run and hide, to be honest. Those gas prices are going to be reflected in everything we buy...food, clothing...EVERYTHING!

Yes, this is my "Thankful for Friday" post, and the opening was less than thankful filled, I know. We all know how hard things are getting, how much harder they are bound to get. The key here is to remember that God is still in control and cares for our needs. He hasn't left us just because the gas prices are skyrocketing! THAT is where I find my joy, where my thankful heart rests. I am NOT alone here. He hasn't put me here and then left me to struggle through the mess on my own. It may feel that way at times when our focus is not on Him and being thankful. Finding joy in the moment, even a moment of stress or sorrow!

We recently found out that a dear friend of ours lost his mom to cancer. Heartbreaking news, but we knew it was bound to come. It's hard to see someone you love suffer and die, it's hard to see them suffer at all! Hard things happen, hard times come, that is not going to change. It is in those times that we often have to purpose in our hearts to FIND JOY! To CHOOSE to be joyful, full of thanksgiving even if it's for our very breath.

So, I challenge you to remain thankful, even in the midst of hard times. Stay focused on joy that can only be found in the Lord. This week, I am thankful for much:

  • I have been blessed with an amazingly hard working and loving man. He brings me so much encouragement, love, friendship, and support every day. I know I say that often on my thankful list, but it's so true...the Lord has blessed me with being married to my very best friend and I am so thankful.
  • Being able to homeschool my kids, learning with them and from them every day!
  • So many great friends that share their knowledge with me on so many topics...I learn something new every day about how to be a better wife, mom and steward of all that the Lord has blessed us with.
  • Being able to sew new things...I made a pair of flannel pants for myself this week and also was able to buy some fabric for some shirts for my daughter and I. We have some work ahead of us, but so rewarding.
  • Our hens are laying well, we finally have enough eggs to share and sell again!
  • Fencing money....I was able to save enough to buy the last of the fence posts for our pasture expansion (at least we hope it was the last of them) while they were on sale!
  • Continued work for my husband. Each week he has more work we are thankful!
So much more that I could share, we have been truly blessed! I don't have to look hard to find things to be thankful for. Sure, we are struggling as much as the next guy...things are hard and are setting themselves up to get harder. I struggle often with letting it get to me, letting the stress be my ruler and not choosing to be joyful or thankful in the midst of it all. It's VERY easy to let the stresses around me rule my thinking. I often have to be very deliberate in my thinking, moment by moment. We have SO much that we'd like to do here, and only so much money to do it with. So much that we want to do and need to do...things that would make it easier for us to live this life...but we have to take it one thing at a time. That is life...it's all a process.

Choose to be thankful! Choose to find joy...even if it is just being joyful and thankful that the sun came up another day, that you have life and breath.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Avoiding the grocery store

Last week I posted about the rising food costs and how we are changing some things to avoid a rising food budget crisis. While not all of us can have huge gardens, a milk cow or goat, chickens, pigs and such, there is always more that we can do to cut costs. Sometimes it takes more time on our parts, more time spent in the kitchen baking, canning produce you buy from a local produce stand or any number of other things.

For me, spending time in the kitchen is something that I love to do. Making bread is not a chore for me, baking cookies, canning peaches or making tortillas. Sure, it's work, but I'm not one that is turned off by a bit of effort to save some money to trim our budget. There are some things that I make that don't even save me much money, but it's worth it just to avoid buying what someone else has made...and the added items that ALWAYS end up in my grocery cart while picking up those items. Doesn't that just drive you nuts? You go to the store for milk and bread and end up spending twice as much on things you "forgot" you needed. In reality, MOST of those "needed" items are not really needed at all. You could easily do without them.

One thing that I thought about in reading comments left on my last blog entry about this subject was that not everyone CAN grow everything. I know I can't. Tomatoes are a favorite here, but something that I have struggled to get to grow well here. This year, I'm going to try a few "tips" I have read about, but I'm not going to count on growing enough to provide us with our needed total for the year. This is something that I watch for at local farms and produce stands. Even canning tomatoes that I've purchased from someone else is better than relying on an unsteady market to always have them on hand. Honestly, if I didn't can them myself, I'd be stocking up on canned organic tomatoes somewhere else...like Costco or where ever I could find the best price. Buying in bulk is what keeps me from having to shop all that often.

Network with local farmers, or others that are able to grow what you can't. Find a neighbor that has chickens, trade with them or buy eggs from them. Raise a few broilers for your freezer, or find someone that does...worst case, buy in bulk when chicken goes on sale. The key is to look at what you CAN do and work with that. For my family, I don't want the GMO food, the poorly raised meat full of hormones and the fillers that they feed the animals. So, we choose to raise most of our own...often at no better price than I could get on sale, but much better product for our time and money. I like knowing where my food comes from and NOT supporting a food industry that likes to play God...or feels that they know best what is "good" food.

I could easily go on and on about what you "could" do, or what we do here. Everyone has to work with what they have, make choices based on preference, limitation and availability in your area. The key is that you CAN do something, even if it's just a few things here and there. Not everyone can be self sufficient in their food needs, but for my family, that is a goal. My encouragement is to do what you can do. Trust in the Lord for what you can't...He's never let us down...we have always been provided for. We just feel that there is always more that we can do to be better stewards of what the Lord has blessed us with!

If you are feeling lost as to where to start, you know you need to cut back on spending, you can't grow a huge garden, can't raise a cow or a pig...start by looking at what you buy now. Can you make your own bread? What about skipping the frozen dinners? Make more of your meals from raw ingredients, not prepackaged mixes and such. I have found that many of the products I thought I needed....BBQ sauce, syrup, pancake mixes, bread, buns, tortillas, even chocolate syrup....can be made at home from things I already had in my pantry! Start by looking at what pre-made foods you buy now and try to find alternatives. It doesn't take a total change in every area of your menu, but most of what you "think" you can't make is easily made from scratch with ingredients you already have on hand. Sure, it may take a bit more time, but planning can help solve much of that problem. I'll be trying to share many of my family's favorite recipes, things that I make all the time that help me avoid the grocery store. If you are looking for something specific...leave me a comment and I'll see what I can find. :)

We are all in this together...and many hands (or minds) can often make light work in a tough situation!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Winter...another blast to usher in March!


Our winter wonderland this morning. Crazy how much snow we've gotten since yesterday. We went to bed last night to about 4 inches of snow. This morning, we woke up to about 8 inches. My poor lilac bushes were looking rather sad until we shook the snow off of them.
I love seeing the snow on the fence by the barn. Looks so cool!

Even the chicken coop looks pretty. :) They are NOT happy with the snow on the ground, poor chickens will have to brave the snow at some point today, the hen house will be a rather crowded place if they don't. I'm actually amazed this building is still standing. It has next to no structural integrity at all. Every winter I say it's going to come down with the first big snow fall. So far, only the back half (where nothing is stored or housed) has fallen down. Praying the rest stays in tact until we can build a new hen house and run.
So pretty...everything blanketed under a layer of snow. Even the most boring views are amazingly beautiful after a good snow fall.


My lonely clothesline and a forgotten ladder after pruning fruit trees. Not a very pretty sight...longing for spring and summer!
Believe it or not, I have peas planted under this snow in the row next to the bean tee-pees. Hard to see, but there is a trellis marking where the peas are waiting for the snow to melt away, so they can peek up through the dirt. Oh how I hope they survive.
Here is our beautiful Sam...our Nigerian Dwarf buddy goat. I just LOVE his coloring and he is such a sweet heart! He's not very happy at being locked out of the barn while the girls get their morning grain. Poor guy, just knows he's missing out on something. It's hard to see here, but he has the most amazingly beautiful blue eyes!

Two of our girls, peaking out at the snow...don't they look a bit wary? They do not enjoy this weather at all, crazy girls. The lighter of the two is Minikin, our queen...or so she thinks. She's out oldest doe and has been with us for some time now. She has a favorite in our family, my dear husband is her favorite person on the earth. Can't say that I blame her...I'm pretty taken with him too. The darker of the two is Tinkerbel...our "problem" goat. She has more attitude than any 10 goats should have! She's also been here for some time, but may not be if she doesn't improve her disposition. Not likely at her age, but I keep hoping. She likes to sit on the milking bucket...WHILE I am milking her. Naughty goat!
She sure can act sweet, can't she! See what I mean by attitude....either really good or really bad! Don't let those smiling eyes fool you...there are days I feel like she is possessed! Thankfully, when she is pregnant, she tends to turn on the charm. She'd be in my lap if I let her. Not my idea of a good time though...she weighs close to 200 pounds at this point. Not really a good lap goat size. She'd try though if I let her.
THIS is why I keep this goat..she's just so stinking pretty! She's also a good milker, when she is in full milk! We got over a gallon a day from her the first year she freshened. Now if we could just figure out how to keep her in milk longer than 5 months! We're working on it this year....if she stays here. I'm about done with the fits she gives us on the milking stand. Praying she miraculously improves this year. It could happen, couldn't it?

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Grocery Shopping and Filling a Pantry

I spent some time this week watching a series of videos on the forecast for the coming year as far as grocery prices go. The videos were found on the Backyard Food Production website. The information in these videos made me even more determined than ever to closely evaluate where my food budget is going, how I stock my pantry and what items I choose to buy.

Here, we have many opportunities to avoid the grocery store, thank the Lord! I, for one, do not enjoy shopping at all. avoiding the grocery store is often difficult with a growing family and especially with growing teenage kids. Our menu is already fairly simple, and our pantry is generally pretty full. My goal, of course, is to get to the point where grocery shopping is a once every few months ordeal, but for now I am limited to one or two big trips a month. That is HUGE, considering I used to shop weekly for our needed items.

This week, after watching these videos, I have spent even more time evaluating what we buy and why. I already make most of our food from scratch, but there is always more I can do. A few areas still could use some improvement...like pasta, crackers and lunch items for my husband. I buy very little ready made items, but still feel like I should be able to do more....always a work in progress.

Some of the things we have moved away from buying are:

  • bread
  • tortillas
  • yogurt
  • buttermilk
  • kefir
  • rolls
  • hamburger/hot dog buns
  • eggs
  • beef
  • chicken
  • potatoes (this last season we were able to grow enough to last through most of February, this year we'll try to make it through spring)
  • pickles
  • pickled beets
  • green beans
  • blueberries
  • raspberries
  • oregano
  • sage
  • mint
  • milk (part of the year anyway)
  • jams
  • syrup
So many things I want to add to our list of homegrown/made items. I'd much rather stock the ingredients to make much of what we use, eat and need than purchase these items already made. I've been "playing" with cheese making, having been somewhat successful with both farmhouse cheddar and mozzarella. Each time I make cheese, it gets better. In the months to come, I hope to perfect cream cheese, sour cream and feta. Being able to take these items off of my grocery list would be wonderful!

Another area that I've been looking at are cleaners and shampoo. I've made and used my own shampoo several times over the past year and liked it! As my family runs out of shampoo, I'm slowly transitioning us over to all homemade. I found some great recipes on a friend's blog. You can visit Freedom Acres Farm for recipes. They are so easy to make and have nothing "bad" in them like so many that you can buy in the stores do. As far as cleaners go, I am using more vinegar, baking soda and buying my dish soap in bulk from Azure.

Another area that I've changed is my laundry soap. I have been using Charlie's Laundry Soap since December. Even with our extremely hard water, this soap works wonders! I love it, can't say enough good about it. One 80 load tub has lasted me since the 13th of December. How's that for inexpensive. Best part is there is nothing in this soap that is harmful...it's just that, SOAP! I can't say enough about this product. I saved up and bought 6 tubs of it all at once to save on shipping. Those 6 tubs will last me more than a year...gotta LOVE that!

While this is not even close to EVERYTHING that I am doing, I wanted to share a bit with you. This has been a big part of my thinking this past week. I'm always looking at what I am doing and trying to do more, or at least be more efficient with what I am able to do.

Given the recent forecast for our food costs this year, I am working even harder to do a better job at what I do. My garden planning this year is different, my canning and preserving goals are changing a bit and my focus is on simplicity and efficiency in it all. This was a big part of my thinking even before I saw the videos this week. I've seen the prices in our grocery stores here rise at alarming rates over the past few weeks and months. It's frustrating, at best, when you are trying to feed a growing family with limited resources AND trying to be as health conscious as possible at the same time!

How have your shopping, cooking and budgeting patterns been changing? Is the economy affecting this part of your life or are you to the point where you are providing enough of your own that you don't feel it as much? I can't believe that for a minute to be very true of most people, you are either feeling it at the gas pumps, the feed store or even just in the little you do buy. We are all feeling the pinch. What have you changed?

Friday, February 18, 2011

Thankful for Friday!

Good morning! I know...it's been a while. Life has just been so busy lately that sitting down to write a blog has been hard. Forming a normal and complete thought has been difficult too...my mind going off in so many different directions just trying to keep up with life. Ever feel that way?

The flu has visited our house this month. Two of us had the stomach flu a week apart. SO not fun...especially when one of those two was the mama. Hard to be mama when you can't get out of bed. :( Thankfully it was a short lived flu bug and I was up and around in a day.


My wonderful hubby brought these to me when I was sick. Kind of an early Valentine's Day, get well soon gift. :) I love that man!


This was the sight from our home Wednesday morning....such a beautiful sight. I never seem to get tired of snow. :) We get it so infrequently here in the Pacific Northwest. This may be our last "big" snow storm...not big by my standards either, but it is still snow and still beautiful. It lasted just about a day, we still have a bit here and there, but our place is looking more like a muddy mess now. It was beautiful while it lasted.

So, what am I thankful for this week? Oh so much!

  • God's everlasting Grace and Mercy....so undeserved! We are continually blessed.
  • My hubby is still working...huge in this tough economy.
  • My pantry is full...grocery shopping will not need to happen again until NEXT month. :)
  • Fresh milk, homemade cheese and other tasty dairy products that I can make from it!
  • Fresh baked bread from my oven...so much better than anything I could buy in the store.
  • Being able to provide much of what we need here on our place...milk, eggs, produce, meat...we are blessed!
  • My kids that are a constant joy, though challenging at times, we are blessed with some amazing kids.
  • Being able to homeschool my three younger kids. This has been a grand adventure that keeps on growing and improving.
  • My husband getting more involved and encouraging in the whole homeschooling vision for our family....love it!
  • Spring is just around the corner. While I LOVE the snow, I am SO ready for spring! I'll be planting peas this weekend, Lord willing! I can't wait!
We have been so blessed. God has been so amazingly faithful to our family. Have things been easy going? NO, tough times and struggles are everywhere for us. Life is full of struggles, challenges and frustrations. Through it all, however, God is faithful and always here guiding and encouraging.

This homesteading dream is just beginning...though we've been at it for almost 8 years now. We are on the edge of so much...can't wait to see where the Lord will lead. :)

Friday, February 4, 2011

Thankful for Friday!

The past week has been a true test of my thankful heart. Our family has been seeing quite a few struggles lately and the strain of it all has really worn us a bit thin, I'll admit. Some days you just have to pull yourself up by your boot straps, as they used to say, and determine in your heart to be thankful. Ever feel like that? Boy howdy, I do!

I have been continually reminded in various ways that we are truly blessed, even in the midst of turmoil and stress. We were never promised an easy road, there are GOING to be bumps along the way, we are going to face really hard things. If we aren't, then we are either not living or living in a dream world unaware of real life. One thing we ARE promised is to have peace during the storm, right? Often times that peace is hard to hold onto in the midst of a big storm, we may loose our grip on the peace that surpasses ALL understanding, but it's always there!

We are SO blessed to be able to see the blessings, the silver linings if you will, in any situation. Sometimes we have to look a little harder than others and sometimes we even have to just trust the Lord that they are there. I think that's where a bit of old fashioned faith comes in. :) God is SO good to us and has blessed us abundantly...we just have to purpose in our hearts to see it.

My blessings this week have been many, though there have been moments that I almost missed them!

  • I serve a loving God that sees all, knows all and CARES about it all!
  • My husband is truly my best friend, and I am his.
  • My kids are healthy and growing, learning to lean on the Father in the midst of hard things.
  • My pantry is full, my freezer is full and my hens have started laying again...YAY!
  • The Lord has blessed us with amazing friends that know how to pray, know how to listen and know when we just need a break.
  • My hubby and I get to have a quiet weekend alone...thanks to some very dear friends. Something that we both desperately need!
  • MOST importantly.....GOD is in CONTROL! I don't have to be, I don't want to be and He does a much better job at it anyway. :)
WE ARE BLESSED!

Monday, January 31, 2011

The twists of this life we live.

For my family, life has been a bit on the crazy side for a couple of weeks now. My blogging time has been cut down to next to nothing...hence the lack of posts here. :( Between schooling with the kids, grade posting for the school district that we are a part of (though, this is becoming more and more difficult, I must admit), preparing for baby goats to appear, my work for Gling, a family issue or two and just trying to keep up with the every day, I've been stretched a bit thin.

Despite all of this, I have felt peace. Finding peace in the midst of a storm is not always easy, but thankfully the Lord is faithful to provide me with the peace I need and the strength I am lacking when I need it most.

No babies in our barn as of yet, but we are expecting some in the weeks to come. I can't wait to have all of that fresh milk, cute little babies and all of the activity that they both bring. A couple of weeks ago, my son built me a cheese press. I'll have to post pictures of it later, he did such a great job! I made my first batch of farmhouse cheddar the day he built it for me. Such an easy cheese to make and it turned out WONDERFULLY! I can't wait to try it with our own fresh goats milk. :) One more thing I can take off of my grocery list if I can perfect it and work it into my weekly routine.

We've been developing a new routine around here. I've been assigning more chores to the kids so that we are able to keep up with the daily list of things. My calendar is my "brain" some days and it's helping me to stay more on track. What a blessing it's been to have meals planned, dishes assigned each day and laundry as well. Taking the time each week to plan out our week out has saved us so much time and frustration. It's amazing, we haven't removed anything from our schedule, but we're able to get much more done. Feels good!

Praying you all are having a blessed week so far. It seems everyone around the country is getting the snow we are praying for. :) Enjoy it if you have it and all of it's beauty. Snow can be a mixed blessing, I know. I choose to focus on the beauty it brings and trust in the Lord to help in the areas that it complicates. :)

Friday, January 14, 2011

Thankful for Friday!

Wow! Am I late in getting this posted this week. Oh well, better late than never. It IS still Friday, after-all. :)

What a week this has been, from snow on Monday, to horrible rain and warm temperatures, we've had a bit of everything it seems. The rain was such a bummer for me, for some reason. I think much of my mood was due to the lack of predicted snow. They had talked and talked about this storm for a week, saying it was going to be a "good old fashioned snow storm" with a foot of snow possible in one evening. Well, as you already may have read, we didn't get anything. Such a bummer! :(

Beyond the weather woes we've had a good week. I've been working since the first of the year to purge out the clutter from our home and really get on top of the daily tasks around here. It is so easy to let things slide, let little things go and eventually they grow into a mountain. At least that is how it's felt as I dig out from underneath it. :)

Another area that has seen some attention from me this week is my quiet time. I don't know why, but doing a daily devotional has always been a struggle for me. I LOVE the idea, but rarely finish or do it faithfully every day. As much as I know my walk needs this daily time with the Lord, life tends to get in my way. This year, I have decided that I need to make it more of a priority. Just as I make time for my kids, my husband and my home, I also need to make time to be with my Father. Relationships take work, communication, listening, attentiveness and the willingness to put yourself aside a little for the good of the relationship. My walk with the Lord should be no different. So, I've decided to make it a priority this week and have LOVED every minute I've gotten to be alone with Jesus!

This time has given my days a focus, a peaceful start and my prayer time and reading have given me things to ponder as I work through my day. My focus has been so much more on how God would want me to respond, work and be in all aspects of my day. Such a great way to spend a bit of time each morning, like having a nice lazy cup of coffee with your husband before he leaves for work in the morning. My devotion time has set the tone for my day. No better place to start, as far as I'm concerned!

So, what am I thankful for this week? Oh my...to list it all will take up too much blog space. I'll jut list a few to give you an idea of where my heart is....

  • My quiet time each morning...are you surprised? :) This time of reading, praying and truly listening to the heart of Jesus has been the best start to every day.
  • My hard working man that gives so freely of himself for our family, working so hard even in the freezing cold snow and drenching rain..all for us. Love that man. :)
  • My kids, and their willingness to help when I need it.
  • Our home, as cluttered and out of control as it seems right now, it's home...the place where my family gathers and memories are made.
  • Being able to be home with my kids, teaching them, watching them grow and learn...a true privilege!
  • The word study I have started doing on "Grace". Such a powerful word study...only one day in and I am loving seeing the heart of God, the grace He bestows on us...undeserved.
A very blessed week...loaded with many blessings, challenges and trials, but God is faithful. I have SO much more to do in reclaiming my home and a routine that will bring more peace to our family, but one day at a time, one room at a time I will get there. :) I have no doubt. My craving for order and organization in my home is HUGE...almost as much as I crave chocolate. :)

Monday, January 10, 2011

The snow "they" said wouldn't come...




Well, the "weather guessers" were totally off for today's forecast. You may recall that we are supposed to be getting ready for a real "old fashioned" winter snow storm in the next few days. Today was supposed to be the calm before the storm....a beautiful sunny day. Well, shortly before my husband left for work this AM it started snowing ever so slightly. No worries, they said we "might" see a few light flurries. :) By the time the kids and I left for their classes this AM we had well over an inch of snow. I was not complaining at all, but found it rather funny that we were supposed to have just light flurries when we'd seen a steady snow fall for well over an hour.



Here are my lilac bushes, so beautiful in the snow. :)


My front porch, covered in snow....ignore the house that is in desperate need of a good painting.
Not to worry, I was stopped when I took this shot on our road. I just love how our place looks in the snow!

Down the road from our place...stopped again, not driving while taking pictures. :) Such a beautiful "non snowy" morning...thanks weather guessers!

The calm before the storm...

Good morning! Our area is gearing up for a "good old fashioned snow storm" according to the weather guys. It's gone from a HUGE event, to a more mild one...either way, we will see snow this week. Depending on who you listen to, we could see anywhere from a trace of snow to a foot. Not sure how so many different people can have so many different predictions, but at least they all agree it should snow. We got a bit over the weekend, but it's all gone now.

So, what does this mean for me? Well, my Yukon will not be going into the repair shop just yet. It's our only 4-wheel drive that we all fit in and as long as the snow fall is minimal, we do have classes to attend this week. That's OK, the repairs can wait. :) I am looking forward to the snow. So are my kids.

I did my grocery shopping over the weekend and made sure that this time we were ready for anything. Who knows, perhaps the weather guys will be TOTALLY off and we'll get a storm that will look much like the one we had our first winter here. That year we were snowed in for almost 3 weeks with just over 2 feet of snow! We were not ready for it and we all about went nuts. This time, we are ready! Most of us are almost hopeful we get a "good old fashioned snow storm" but know that it's not likely.

Praying for a restful week, as we are all recovering or suffering from a nasty cold. Praying my dear husband doesn't get the dreaded cold. Also praying the snow doesn't keep him from being able to work. Thankfully, God knows what we need and we can rest in that.

I'm looking forward to the snow falling and being able to sit with a hot cup of tea and watch our world turn white. I LOVE the snow, love the way it transforms our homestead and lightens moods. I've got plenty of sewing, crocheting and knitting to keep me busy if we do get snowed in. :)

Friday, January 7, 2011

Thankful for Friday!

Wow! I'm a bit late in getting this Friday post up, but it's been a VERY long day. What have I gotten done...absolutely nothing, or so it would seem. That's OK though, everyone is entitled to a day like this from time to time..or so I'm told. :)

My day started today with a VERY early drop of of a little boy I baby sit from time to time. Jack got here at about 4:15 this AM. Thankfully he is a snuggler, so I got some snuggle time in on the sofa. After a couple of hours, he was ready for a nap...and so was I after a night of very little sleep. We napped, let the rest of the kids (some of whom have been sick all week) sleep in. Oh the blessings of homeschooling, being able to be flexible like this. I love that!

Today has been a very laid back day for us with school as well. A much needed lazy day after a week of nasty colds and trying to keep up despite feeling rotten. The main thing we did for school today was to watch the movie Food Inc. I'd already watched it, but wanted the kids to see it as well. The older kids took notes and it will count towards their health requirements...gotta love that! If you haven't had the opportunity to watch this movie, I'd highly recommend it. If you care about what your family eats, where it comes from (if it doesn't come from your own farm or homestead) you will want to see this. Even if you don't really want to know...you should watch it!

So, what am I thankful for this week? Oh my, where to begin...let's see.

  • As always, my hard working husband and his ability to work in a struggling economy when so many are not able to. We've had our scares, our down times, but we have been blessed.
  • My kids, their readiness to learn, and understanding of why we live the way we do. For the most part, they "get" it, may not always like the chores required to live this life, but they at least understand why and appreciate it.
  • Our place here where we can grow a good portion of our food, have room to move around, have God's beauty all around us and are blessed to live this life.
  • The relationship I have with my husband, he is truly my best friend.
  • Having the time and desire to be creative...crocheting, knitting, sewing and such has become a part of my daily life. I went too long not allowing myself that time, now I can't do without it. It's also nice that my husband supports my endeavors and encourages me to do as much as I feel like. :)
  • My Yukon will soon be in the repair shop, it's been a month next week since I was in my wreck and I am SO tired of the daily reminder and questioning looks from people...as if I don't already feel rotten about it all. :(
  • Charlies Laundry Soap that I ordered from Marmee Dear. I absolutely LOVE it! Even with our horrible hard water, our clothes are just plain CLEAN! May be a silly thing, but for this mom it's been a wonderful blessing. :)
  • My Shark Steam Mop that my wonderful hubby bought me for Christmas....works like a dream and my floors are CLEAN! :)
Can you tell I've done a lot of cleaning lately? :) I'm trying so hard to get back on top of my house after a long month of preparing for Christmas, all of the running and everything else that the end of the year seems to bring. It was all good, but my house suffered because of it all. All in all, it's been a good start to the new year.