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!

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.

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!

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?

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?

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. :)

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!