March 2014 Catch Up Post

 Whoo hoo! Michael's dreams for having a shop built came true this month. Our contractor and personal friend, Daniel, did an amazing job in record time getting this put up. Couldn't be happier. We had so much fun when his family came over to visit us while he was working. The kids had a blast playing in all the dirt. They dug themselves a Hobbit hole.

 Here it is, Michael's dream 30 x 40 shop, completed. I will never see him again! I'll be a shop widow ;)

My friend sent over some Ethiopian teff flour to try. It is gluten-free and is from the world's smallest grain. Super yummy! I made German Chocolate Chip Cookies with it and you would have never known I hadn't used all purpose flour. Thanks, Sarah!

Whirl-wind trip over the mountain to our old homeschool group's early St. Patrick's Day party. Was so much fun to see many of our old friends and even meet a few new ones. Impromptu play date with a couple of my besties and then a short visit with our good friends, the Carrolls. The kids got to do a couple of fun shamrock crafts, using the shamrock as a tool for teaching the Trinity, just like St. Patrick did when he preached the gospel in Ireland.

Each child made a pin with the Trinity on the shamrock.

Authentic Irish food potluck! NOTHING dyed green. Yummy!

My sis and her family came to visit us on Spring Break. They were a huge help to me. We did a lot of burning of debris and re-seeding. Mom, Larry and Stacie and I, with all the kids in one place. A rare photo op!

Had a surprise visit one morning from Josiah's friend, Tavy. I paid them $.10 for every thistle they dig out of the ground. This backfired on me There were way more thistles than I realized. Between, Josiah, Tavy and my nieces and nephews, I ended up paying out over $75 and they just made a dent in the thistle population. Ouch! They all worked very hard though.

Never thought I'd say that I LOVE a clothesline, but I really do, especially for big stuff. Hailey always wants to help me do the laundry now.  So happy that Spring is here!

Got turnips and Kale sprouting in coffee cans in the greenhouse.

Instead of storing the kids' sleds, I decided to use them for spinach and lettuce beds in the greenhouse.

We learned how to do this at the homeschool science share. Put your cut off romaine lettuce and celery stems in water and let them grow again. Not sure how big they will get, but it is worth a try!

Inside of the little greenhouse that was my Grandpa Fay's. Love it so much! I know he would have been thrilled to see us on our own homestead.

Our little orchard. We added a nectarine, peach, cherry and plumb tree to the two apples and mystery tree. Going to build a chicken run around these so they will clean up the fallen fruit for me.

First blooms on the big mystery tree in our yard. There are thousands of buds on this tree. It is going to be stunning in a few days. This is the fun thing about moving into a new place - discovering what the previous owners had planted.

I'm definitely overwhelmed at times by all there is to do. Oh, it is so worth it though. Since living here, I've learned how to fix frozen pipes, run a chainsaw, seed a small pasture by hand, change a battery out in a riding lawnmower, and much, much more. I just have to take it a piece at a time and let my dreams last a little longer. There is beauty in the dreaming, that is for sure.

God Bless,

Jackie

February 2014 Highlights

Jeekers, seems like I'm turning into a once a month blogger. Just too busy living this awesome life God has blessed us with. Between homeschooling and getting this homestead put together, life is very full. It has been such a blessing to be near my parents. My mom is a super fun grandma as you can see. 

"Yes, my mama wears Army boots!"

My hubby celebrated his 41st birthday this month. It was drill weekend, but he managed to get home just before the kids got to bed so we could have a little party for him. Love my soldier! 

 We are getting to know a few homeschool families in our new community. My new friend, Jeni, and I decided to teach our Creation Science class together. We're using the "Considering God's Creation" curriculum and I'm really liking it. Perfect for a wide age group. We happened to be studying flowers on Valentine's Day.

"Flower Detectives"

We also got together with a couple of homeschool families and had a Valentine's Day party. The kids had a great time cutting out and decorating semi-healthy sugar cookies and exchanging Valentine's Day cards.

My kids spent days decorating. They were very excited!

Those healthy whole wheat sugar cookies made with sucanat were then topped with loads of icing and sprinkles. Hey at least they were halfway healthy, right, LOL!?!

My sister and her 6 kids came to visit that evening and stayed the weekend. Hailey and Lily always love to dress up and dance. They are just like Stacie and I were when we were little girls. Always love spending time with my sis.

The boys were in "warrior mode" most of the time. Lots of room to run around on our new homestead!

Hailey lost both front teeth, finally. It is so cute listening to her speak and try to eat spaghetti noodles.

We were able to start having our shop built in February! Michael is beyond excited about this.

I was blessed to be able to get a Dyson vacuum cleaner for a great deal. It works really good on this old carpet and I feel like things are finally getting clean. 

Our friend and contractor who is building the shop is a real "Jeremiah Johnson" type. He's been running a trap line on our local river where the beaver population is decimating the trees and causing a lot of damage. In addition to tanning the hides, Daniel has been giving us beaver meat. I was very leery of eating some, despite the fact that beavers are vegetarians. I must say though, that it was some of the most amazing meat I've ever eaten. Very mild in flavor and tender. Yum! 

Well that is about it for the month of Feb. We are in full steam now that March is here. Planting fruit trees, roses,  and getting my little greenhouse in order. So much to do! Hope it is starting to warm up wherever you all are.

God Bless,

Jackie