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