January 2015 "Happenings on the Homestead"

Where did January go? In fact, where did my first and second trimester go? I'm already at 25+ weeks. Feeling good, but starting to slow down as ligaments are loosening up in preparation for the big day (still a few months off).  My friend, Kay, took this pic of me at the Burns Night Supper put on by the Celtic Society of Eastern Oregon. I can't fit into my tartan anymore on account of my swallowing a soccer ball, but I still managed to wear our clan colors.  It was wonderful to have a date night with my sweetie and hang out with old friends. 

We became official members of Pendleton Baptist Church this month! We are so happy to have found such a God-honoring church who preaches the Word straight and whose members are truly striving to live out what it means to be a Christian. We are thrilled to be a part of this local body of believers. Hailey is going to get baptized in March and we are all looking forward to that special day.

This month has been filled with vintage double-wide trailer woes, but we are getting through one problem at a time. So thankful for my handy-man hubby! Michael fixed the kids' peeling shower surround around the first of the month, just in time for the grout to have come loose around the master bathroom shower (not shown). We've been working on master bathroom for over a week now. We've removed the carpet and are now dealing with the mold problems before we lay new linoleum.

This is the kid's shower after we got the new surround in. We were blessed to have been given this brand new shower surround by a contractor-friend at church. Michael was able to cut it down to fit into our smaller than average shower/tub combo. So thankful we got this done before we had to tear apart the master bathroom.

This Highland Barbarian (Josiah) was posing for a portrait his friend, Gracia, was drawing of him. He and his dad tanned the sheep hides themselves naturally.  

We started having the kids each take a night where they get to pick and prepare a meal (with a little help from Mom). I try very hard to just let them create and enjoy cooking. They both love it when it is their night to cook because that means they don't have to do the dishes! So far Hailey has made taco salads and a potato bar. She's making Italian breaded pork chops tonight. I try to suggest really simple things for her to make to get her confidence up.

Josiah continues to surprise me. He uses recipes as guides, but does a lot of his alterations that have turned out delicious. He made this cheesy, smoked sausage, fusilli with a basic Italian red sauce the other night. We all loved it. He completed the meal with our home-steamed grape juice, to really give it an Italian feel. We've also been getting lots of milk lately to make cheese. We had homemade feta on our salad. Yummy night! One of my favorite meals he has made was breaded and pan-friend salmon. We were given a bunch of salmon and he smoked the rest. It all turned out great!

A couple weeks ago, the main electrical line to our house shorted out, so we had to "camp" in the trailer for a weekend while Michael worked on getting it fixed himself (big job). For once, a major malfunction happened when Michael was actually home!

We were praising God we put in a wood stove this year because we used it not just for heat, but for heating water and even cooking. Hailey is stirring the soup in this pic I took on my phone.

We were praising God we put in a wood stove this year because we used it not just for heat, but for heating water and even cooking. Hailey is stirring the soup in this pic I took on my phone.

Unfortunately, when you come out of this place, you turn into a chocolate snob. No other chocolate tastes as good. The field trip also provided a glimpse into the entrepreneurial world of a small business.

I know my camera phone stinks, but here is a parting pic of all my sister's kids and mine, all stair stepped, waiting in line for dinner at my mom's house. We had such a good time with them over New Years. Just think there's going to be one more soon! 

I've really been struggling this week as we found out both kids need braces. We've had house troubles, vehicle problems and a the reality of a new baby on the way. God is stretching my faith. He is bringing me once again to a place where I need to just purely trust Him even though I can't possibly see how it will all work out. A friend on Facebook posted a wonderful article that describes my feelings perfectly called, "Complicated Peace" by Sarah Bessy.  When I read this article, I determined that I'm not going to feel guilty anymore over my vacillating feelings between sheer joy and panic over the life changes ahead. I need to deal with these feelings instead of always pushing them down. It's been a rough week, but I finally feel like I'm being honest with myself and God. He's ripping that band aid off and cleaning my wounds so I can heal and be ready for this precious blessing when it gets here. If you feel led, please keep me in your prayers this week. 

God Bless, 

Jackie