Garden Lessons Learned Daily Here on our Farm

Just a quick note of something I learned today. I have spent much time planting seeds in the shop "greenhouse". I have cared for these seeds and baby plants with much effort and time. I knew from reading that I was to harden off the plants when planting in cool weather. However, I did NOT know that if it was warm outside the plants still needed to be harden off. I learned this lesson well. I had planted little baby plants in the garden beds. After a few days, all of the plants were withered away. I was confused. After some reading and chatting with my husband, I have come to the conclusion that the young plants were too tender just to pop them in the garden beds.

I just wanted to pass along this little garden tip to those of you who may not know!!!

Happy Gardening.

grace and peace,
julie

My Happy Place

After being away from our home for five days, there are many things that need my attention. I have kept my hands busy, but as I was walking out to the garden yesterday I found my happy place. I went to the garden to gather lettuce for dinner. I saw a weed that needed pulling. Two hours later I was still pulling weeds. The funny thing was I had no idea how much time I had spent out in the garden. The time just flew by, and I enjoyed myself more than I could ever imagined. Does this mean I am getting old? I remember my Dad enjoying his garden. I thought that must be what you do when you are old. (That was my thought when I was 16). I pray that my 16 year old logic was flawed because if it isn't that must mean I AM getting OLD!!!

Today has been very productive in the garden. All of my beds have been weeded and spruced up a bit. Michael and sons built a new raised bed. I filled that bed with squash and zucchini plants that I grew from seeds in our "green house". I hope to get back outside to continue to work on planting a few more herbs, flowers, and lettuce plants. We still have the material to complete 5 more beds. I will post pictures soon.

Happy planting!!!
grace and peace,
julie

Good Byes and Thank Yous

On Friday evening while we were getting ready for our daughter's piano recital, we received word that Michael's father passed away unexpectedly. We have been in a whirlwind the last few days as we have been dealing with all the things required of us. Much to our dismay, Michael's father had made no preparation for this day. He had no final wishes for us to carry out, and there was no life insurance policy to help us with the final expenses. This brought much stress to Michael and his brother as they stood face to face with the funeral director requiring a large sum of money to be paid in 30 days. God is so faithful, but the funeral director wanted more than just Biblical promises on his payment. With the help of many different people, most of the needed money was donated. I am so thankful to the Lord that people were willing to help us when we needed it most.
I did not share this part of the story just to tell you of our plight of woes, but it brought some business things to our minds that we need to attend to. I do not want my children to feel undone if an untimely death should occur in our home. We will be making some needed changes to make our wishes legal in the event that something should happen to Michael or myself. It was very disheartening at a time of mourning to be faced with financial issues. We are a typical American family who intends to take care of this type of business soon, but Michael's father felt the same way I am sure. However, his time frame just ran out before he got around to dealing with the business at hand.
Whenever a death of a parent occurs, Michael and I try our best to take away something positive from that situation. We look at our parents', and as grown children we can see their strong points as well as their weak ones. We want to do better than our parents' in some areas of their lives. Just as I am sure that our children will want to do better than us in certain areas in our lives. Death brings a time of honest reflection, and I pray that we can implement the changes in our lives that need to be addressed.
Upon my Dad's death, being able to have some of his earthly possessions brought me some comfort. Shooting his gun made me feel somewhat closer to him. I know that it helped to bring fond memories back of when I was a child being taught by him to shoot. Michael was able to experience this himself this weekend by bringing back some of his dad's woodworking tools. I watched as he looked through jigs that his dad had made for certain jobs, and I understood that it brought a connection to his dad. He was thrilled to find templates that his dad had made of many different kitchen cabinet doors. There is something special about being able to use the tools of the trade that has been handed down from generation to generation. We are truly blessed. I look around our home and see a beautiful cedar gun cabinet built by Michael's grandfather. I look in our shop and see cabinets and benches and tools used and built by Michael's father. I know both his father as well as his grandfather would be very pleased to see Michael's sons so enthusiastic to learn the art of woodworking.
Michael's father was a Vietnam veteran. Due to his military service, we had a 21 gun salute at his burial. It was overwhelming to me to see these men salute and pay tribute to a fellow soldier. As Taps was played on the bugle, I was moved to great emotion. That song stirs up so much in my heart. I am so thankful to all the soldiers who has fought to secure our freedom. Michael served 12 years in the Navy, and I have a very soft place in my heart for soldiers as well as sailors. As we were finishing up dinner at Cracker Barrel on our trip back to Tennessee, a world war 2 veteran came in to eat dinner. I could tell that he was a veteran by the hat he wore. I was pricked in my heart to tell him thank you for all that he gave to serve our country. I understand only a small part of the sacrifice, but I do my best to teach my children that it was real people that gave their lives to serve their country. Unfortunately I did not act upon my conviction. I missed the opportunity to say thank you to this dear man. I was uncertain and embarrassed to tell him the gratitude that was in my heart. I was unsure how he would respond to me. Just seeing this man brought tears to my eyes, and I knew that having a conversation with him would put me into a crying fit. I suggested to Michael that he should take the boys over and thank him, but I guess that the Lord pricked my heart not Michael's heart. I am sad that I did not follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in this situation. My heart is heavy because I did not obey Him. However, I know that God's mercies are new every morning, and I won't make that same mistake again. So to all you veterans out there thank you for the sacrifice that you gave. Words are too shallow to express the gratitude in my heart.

grace and peace,
julie

Hello To All

Wow, I am amazed at how quickly time can get away from me since my last post. All is well here on our beautiful farm. We have been busy doing all the farm things that Spring brings to our chore list. I love this time of year so much! Here is a quick update on the things that we have had our hands to as of lately:

Honey Bees: We were very disappointed this year when Michael checked our 2 hives and found that all of our bees were gone. There were a few dead ones remaining in the hive. We promptly ordered 2 more packages of bees. Upon their arrival, we made up sugar water and placed them in their new home. Michael has checked on them, and the new queens are laying eggs so for the time being we know that all is well there. We have had a lot of trouble with keeping our bees from season to season. Our first attempt at beekeeping came with little bees that did not want to stay home. Every time we turned around it seemed that our bees were swarming!! That lasted for two seasons. We then moved the bees to a new location because we bought a new/old home. The bees continued the swarming mode, but at least some of them were content to stay put. After a year at that location, we once again purchased a new/old home. This is the place that we live now, and it comes complete with wind, wind, and more wind. Our hives have blown over SEVERAL times even though Michael strapped them down with everything known to man. Finally we moved our bees by a neighbor's barn that is located right next to our fence. The bees are on our side of the fence, but we are using his barn as a wind barrier. We would have done this earlier on, but we weren't for sure how our neighbor would feel about this new arrangement. He doesn't live on the property so we felt he wouldn't mind, and we were right about this. Our hives have stayed together this entire windy season!!!

The whole issue with the loss of honey bees in the news has really bothered me lately. I am just as curious as the next person to find out the cause. My mom called the other day and said that she heard Paul Harvey talking about it on his radio show. That particular broadcast suggested cell phones or electrical wires may be causing the problem. I still believe that the Deliberate Agrarian is onto something with his theory of the GMO seeds. Time will tell...

Dairy Cow: Michael and the boys finally finished the fencing so that we could pick up our dairy cow from Tnfarmgirl. She was gracious enough to let Lizzy remain on her property until we could get our fences secured, which took a while. Lizzy has done quite well at her new home. She is a beautiful cow, and I enjoy looking out my kitchen window and seeing her graze in our field. However, she will function as much more than just a lawn ornament. She is scheduled to give birth some time in August so we will also have fresh milk. We have been working with her to get her more gentle for milking. Michael and I were with her the other day, and he wondered out loud if she really was pregnant. (She hasn't been vet checked so we do not have an actual confirmation). I asked him why he was thinking that, and he commented that she wasn't near as big as I was when I was pregnant!! (After almost 20 years of marriage, you would think he would K-N-O-W what not to say,but he was deep in thought). He tried to back peddle and explain that he REALLY meant something lame like "proportionally speaking"!!!! Of course I am still making him pay for his comment on that one, but I did understand his meaning. I am happy to report that since that day, Lizzie is growing a bit broader. I will keep you update on this as it progresses.

Chickens: We installed our new chicken fence which is an electrical netting fence. It is designed to be moved. I can't tell you how happy I am to have our chickens in a large fenced in area that is safe and contained. I so enjoy watching them out my kitchen window too. Sometimes when I am getting stressed, I take a minute to gaze at the chickens. There is something very peaceful about watching them peck and scratch in beautiful lush green grass. They too are much more than just lawn ornaments. We have enjoyed the fresh eggs. At this time, they aren't laying many eggs due to molting. I will be happy when they are back to work once again!

Garden: The garden is perhaps my favorite area of our farm. We have filled our 4 raised beds that we had last year. Michael will be ordering more wood from our local saw mill, and will add 6 more beds to our area. I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed gardening in the raised beds. Right now we have a bed full of all different kinds of lettuces, green onions, and a few broccoli plants. We have another bed full of bush beans that haven't sprouted yet. We have a bed full of an early tomato variety, and another bed with flowers and cabbage. In my make shift green house in the basement, I have squash and zucchini coming out my ears. There are many more tomatoes in the early stages of growth along with enough peppers to supply an army. I also have various stages and variety of flowers growing.

Well, this post has turned into a little longer that expected. I need to wrap it up here, and get to our sons' ballgames. I pray you have a wonderful weekend in your neck of the woods.

grace and peace,
julie

recipe for Chocolate Covered Eggs

Here is the recipe for the eggs that I told you about in yesterday's post. We made these eggs today as a family project. They are VERY messy, but they are fun. The eggs remind me of the old fashioned creme filled eggs that I used to eat when I was young. They are very good, but very sweet. Hope you enjoy. For copyright purposes, I found this recipe on the FoodNetwork website. The recipe is one of Paula Deen's and it came from her show Paula's Home Cooking.


Chocolate Covered Potato Eggs

2 medium potatoes (2 cups total when mashed)
1 stick butter
2 (1 pound) boxes confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups melted chocolate

Boil and mash potatoes, then cool to room temperature. Add butter to potatoes. Mix potatoes, sugar and vanilla. Chill in frig. for 1 hour. The mixture should be the consistency of marzipan. Divide the dough into 16 equal shape pieces and roll into egg shapes. Freeze them for 30 minutes. Dip pieces into melted chocolate to cover, transfer to a rack covered with wax paper for drying. Serve cold. Color coconut with green food coloring to make grass for the chocolate eggs to set on if desired.

grace and peace,
julie

He Has Risen INDEED!!

Our family spent many years not celebrating Easter or Christmas due to the fact that the origin of these holidays are pagan. Then one day we realized that we are not celebrating the goddess Ishtar or a make believe santa, but we could enjoy the holiday without worshiping the origin. We could celebrate a holiday AND worship our Lord Jesus Christ as long as our heart was in the right place. (That was a revelation to us and it changed the way our family began to make memories with our children). "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure..." Titus 1:15. As we were seeking the Lord in this matter, we found the above scripture, and we felt released to enjoy the holiday. Our standard is that we still will not lie to our children and tell them there is a santa or easter bunny or tooth fairy. We don't ever want them to think that if we would lie to them about santa perhaps we would lie to them concerning other issues. With all of this personal background being said, I wanted to share with you some great ways that we have made Easter a special time in our home. As with Christmas, I enjoy doing several projects throughout the week with the kids. It gives us time each day to enjoy a special time of being together. I am still amazed at how much my older boys still enjoy what seems to be childish activities.

Today our project was egg dying. As you can see in the above picture, it can create a mess. My oldest son was saying how much he hated messes, but I reminded him memories were more important than messes. We combined all of our eggs into a wire farm basket. My daughter and I cut some dogwood and redbud stems and attached them to the side of the basket. We now have a beautiful table center piece without much cost at all. The best part is that we all had a hand in putting it together and memories were made. Every spring our neighbor blesses us with goose eggs. We always save them to color, and this year I wrote each child's name on the egg with a crayon. I had them color them, and then I placed them in a pretty dish for display.

When I was sick I was "busy" watching the food network. Paula Dean had a great recipe for chocolate eggs. This will be our project for tomorrow. I will post the recipe later. We will also being tinting coconut green to look like grass for our eggs. I plan on putting our green "grass" and eggs on a pretty yellow plate for display.

In times past I have done elaborate Easter baskets for each child. At other times, we just didn't have the money to spend on such things. One mother of a large family said that they purchase each child a chocolate rabbit. In the middle of the kitchen table, they put together a family candy basket for all to share. She says this helps keep the cost down for her. This year I will put together a basket for each of our children. I like to add candy to their baskets, but I also like to add other small things that don't contain so much sugar. Last year I added silly putty to each basket. I was amazed that my kids had never played with silly putty before. Silly putty was a staple in my childhood! I usually find a coloring book and a small box of crayons to add to the basket. For the older children, I splurge and buy them a magazine of interest such as a hunting or fishing magazine. Last year I used cricket buckets for my 2 older boys' baskets. The baskets turned out great, and they were usable when they went fishing with their Dad. It makes the kids feel special when I take some time to think about each of their likes and put that into their basket. My oldest son really enjoys lifting weights. I am trying to come up with something for his basket using that theme. The true challenge is to do this type of thing while staying on a budget! I have also added playdough and bubble making gadgets in the baskets as extras. Hint: When choosing a basket remember the bigger the basket the more stuff it takes to fill the basket. When I am really watching my budget, I buy smaller basekts and it takes less stuff to fill it.

We also try to get together with another family for Easter dinner. Since we have never lived around any of our family, we enjoy having a large dinner with another family in our community. This adds so much more fun to our celebration time.

And most important of all, I want my children to understand that Easter is a celebration of Jesus. On Saturday night, we will have a time of family communion. We celebrate our communion with a large loaf of fresh baked bread and a bottle of sparkling grape juice. We use risen bread intentionally because for us it is symbolic of the fact that Jesus rose again.

I hope that these ideas will help you think about ways that you can share some special time with your own family. Memories are more important than messes so enjoy some messy time with your own children, and make some wonderful memories that will last a life time.

grace and peace,

julie

There should be a law of God that states that Mothers shall NOT EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE get sick. I think my entire family would agree. Right after that law there should be another law...In the event that somehow a mother does get sick, her dishwasher shall NOT break!!!! My children would sign both of those laws into effect if they had the authority to do so.

Without all of the yucky details of sickness, I'll just say I have been dealing with bronchitis and now strep throat. I feel like I have lost almost 2 weeks of my life. I have watched more t.v. in the last 2 days then I have watched in the last 2 months. (I did get some good tips off the Food Network)! So if you are a mom and have any kind of imagination you must know that our house is undone. (Again I am leaving out all the yucky details for your benefit). Everyone has pitched in as much as possible, but after a while a house needs the hand of a mom to put it back in tip top shape. I struggle with this sometimes. I grew up in a house that was always clean. I have had times in my life that I am down right irritated about things getting undone in our home. (Confession is good for the soul). I have had times in my life that I want one of those houses that just seems to stay clean all by themselves.

About 8 years ago, I was crying out to the Lord about this very issue. It seemed at the time no matter how hard I worked in our home it always needed something else done to it. I was getting so discouraged that I was starting to get frustrated with our children. The Lord dropped a scripture right into my lap that has changed my attitude from that time on.

"Where no oxen are the trough is clean; But much increase comes by the strength of an ox." Proverbs 14:14

Now at the time we did not have a farm or any real plans for a farm so I knew God wasn't speaking to me to get a farm animal. However, He was speaking about my children. I was placing the wrong value on a clean house instead of putting the right value on the children that the Lord gave me. This one scripture has changed my life when it comes to my attitude about cleaning up our home. I still grumble sometimes about the chore, but I also know that with oxen (children) sometimes comes a dirty trough (kitchen). Now one of my favorite sayings in the world is "Many hands make light work". So with that in mind I am going to go gather my many hands and get this house put back in order!!!

grace and peace,
julie

English Mastiff: The Good, The Bad, & The Smelly

I am a dog lover. I have been a lover of animals ever since I can remember. I truly can't recall being scared of any dogs until about 2 years ago. I had been walking about 2 miles around "the loop" which started at my house and circled around until I returned home again. I love this walk because the mountains are beautiful and the road doesn't have too much traffic. About half way around the loop is a beautiful new home with a dog that looks much like the one you see in this picture. She never even so much barked at me for over a year. Then one day I happened to walk by and she wasn't only barking but she was running very fast towards me. I quickly climbed into a cow pen and stood there facing the neighbor's bovines, but they beat the barking dog. I was thinking about climbing up into the barn, but decided that I was safe enough on the ground. I went to reach for my cell phone, but much to my dismay I had left without it that morning. I stood there for a while and then decided that I could maybe climb out of the pen and sneak back home. Every time I tried to climb out, the dog would come back and bark again. I was trapped, and I was feeling a bit frustrated. I then spotted an older farmer way up on the hill and I started yelling with all of my might for him to come my way. I knew this man, and I knew he was the father of the dog's owner. He came down the hill asking me what in the world I was doing standing in his cow pen. I pointed out to the DOG. He said in a calm voice, "Sassy, go home". She went home. I was so impressed. However, I was having a little difficulty getting up the nerve to start my walk back home so I requested that he drive me past the dog's abode. He laughed and assured me that she wouldn't hurt me. I laughed and said I would rather ride than take a chance on meeting Sassy again that morning. This was my first encounter with an English Mastiff.

About a year after my encounter, Sassy became a mommy, and my oldest son begged me to stop in and see the pups. I honored his request. They were the cutest pups, but I knew they would be expensive. Several months later, I was the owner of one of her pups. The neighbor's called and offered us a "deal we couldn't refuse" to get rid of the last puppy. I wanted to share our experience thus far with this breed of dog.

THE GOOD: Mastiffs are known to be very loyal. They were bred to stay at home to guard the castle during the middle ages. They did not often bite their enemies, but they would sit on them or back them into a corner until their master came home. (This explains why Sassy was happy to trap me in the cow pen and keep me until helped arrived).

English Mastiffs have a very sweet disposition. Our Missy dog is one of the sweetest dogs we have ever had. They enjoy being with their people, and dislike being left alone. (Missy's favorite spot is to sit on the rug in front of the kitchen sink while I am doing dishes. She will also sit on our feet if she gets the chance). She wants to be as close to us as possible. They are also known as lazy which I think is a good trait. She sleeps a lot so this has kept her out of trouble.

English Mastiffs are smart dogs who want to please their owners. She has an understanding that she can play with our older children roughly, but she had best be easy with the little guy.

THE BAD: English Mastiffs are very large animals. They average out between 150-190 and above. I believe our dog is about 150 pounds. This is a good trait if you need them to scare a bad guy away. However, this can work against you if you need to get your dog out of the UPS truck. (That happened just last week at our house. Thankfully the UPS guy has a great sense of humor)! Due to their size, these dogs can do a lot of damage without really trying. I cannot go into all the things that Missy has messed up in as well as out of our home because Michael hasn't figured it all out yet! (We did find one of his lost golf balls. However nobody wanted to retrieve it from Missy's pile of pooo. Yes, she ate his golf ball)! We have a rule at our house...WATCH MISSY, and if you cannot watch her PUT HER IN THE BATHROOM with everything removed from the counter! She is a house dog who is my shadow so this isn't usually a problem.

THE SMELLY: Before we got Missy, we did a little reading about the breed. The breed profile said these dogs were on the gassy side. I believe that was an understatement...they can smell very bad if fed the wrong thing. Sometimes she smells just plain bad even when she is fed the right thing! The breed profile says that this breed tends to snore a bit. That was an understatement as well. Missy can put Michael's snoring to shame. She is very noisy at night, but I can sleep through just about anything so it doesn't bother me...to much. The breed profile forgot to say that this breed of dog tends to slobber. That can be a bit disgusting, but a large roll of paper towels applied to her jaws usually can conquer this problem.

You may be wondering why in the world we would have a 150 pound smelly snoring house dog living in our home. (Yes, Michael asks me this question often). But remember, I am truly a dog lover. I love big dogs that are sweet natured, and Missy Girl is so very sweet. She is my shadow, and I feel a bit lost when she isn't by my side. Yes, she has probably doubled my housework load, but she has brought me and the kids much joy. (Michael is still waiting for the joy part, but I know down deep he truly loves her). Well, we will just leave it that way until he decides to post his own thoughts!!

grace and peace,

julie

Farmer In Training

We celebrated Seth's 3rd Birthday this month. I thought I would share a few pictures of his birthday celebration. You know every boy/man loves a good tractor. This year the grandparents and us went in together and bought him a battery operated tractor. I was a little concerned that he would miss opening up gifts, but his Daddy assured me that this was the gift for him! His Dad sure knows his boy because Seth was delighted with his new tractor. Later in the day he became even more estatic because he found 2nd gear which made him go MUCH faster!!! (Watch out fruit trees)!

grace and peace,

julie

Fruit Trees Welcome Spring

Here are pictures of our 2nd year peach tree. I was delighted when I saw the beautiful blooms the other evening. Then I remembered that I must pinch the flowers off the trees again this year. Ughhh...I hate doing that. It seems against my mothering nature. I spent much time caring for these trees, and now I am expected to take off all of the beautiful flowers. Tim from Urban Homestead PROMISED me that in the end I would be very pleased if I would follow his advice and pinch off the flowers. He is the tree professional...I am not. He has assured me that by picking off the flowers that our trees will put more effort into growing into strong healthy trees instead of trying to produce fruit these first few years. By trying to produce fruit, it takes away from the tree's ability to become a stronger tree. Well, I followed his advice and I picked the flowers off our now naked tree. It is so hard for me to do this. I will tell you something else that I have a terrible time doing. I can't stand to see our trees pruned. I am not talking about our large apple tree, but all of our young trees are the ones that I hate to see being pruned. It seems like they take 2 steps forward in growing, and then we cut them 1 step back. Tim spent much time talking to us about the pruning process of the young trees. He was wonderful at showing how to prune and WHY it is so important. He sold me on the need of pruning the trees, but I still don't have to like it.

grace and peace,

julie

Making Do With What We Have

As I said in my previous post, we inherited some seed starting trays when we purchased our house. They were intended to be used to start tobacco slips. The tobacco farmers build large raised"beds" that can hold water. The trays are floated in the water while the bed is covered with hoops and plastic. Our raised beds cannot hold water, and we haven't spent the time or money to add hoops. I was in need of a large container that could float the trays in Michael's shop while the seeds germinate. As I was looking around, I found two tubs used to mix grout when Michael did our tile in the kitchen. I had to cut my tray in half so that it would fit. I now have two floating trays! I will switch out my extra trays so that all of my seeds will stay damp. I found out earlier that dampness and heat are both important for seeds to germinate! (One year I floated these trays in our children's plastic sleds. These worked great, but we no longer have them. They later became pig troughs for our baby pigs). I also had a dilemma in how to label the seeds. I didn't want to spend the money on plastic markers to label our seeds. Instead I bought a large bag of Popsicle sticks from the craft store. I label the stick with the name of the plant as well as the date I planted the seeds. This has been a great way to keep things in order.

I am sure that the more I do this seed planting thing that I will come up with better ways to do things. For now, I am content to use what we have. We did get our order in from Heirloom Acres Seed Company. I was pleased with what I have used thus far. I have planted most of our herb seeds. Last Sunday afternoon, I planted broccoli seeds and cabbage seeds. Those are seen in the last 2 pictures. I am surprised at how quickly they have grown. Today I have planted many flower seeds. I will get pictures of them as soon as there is something to see.

grace and peace,

julie

Planting Seeds and Tending Plants

Here are a few pictures of our make shift green house located in Michael's shop. I have to say that I have been more than impressed at how our seeds have grown under the grow lights. I planted these plants in February, and I have spent the last week "harding them off" outside. It has turned cold here over the weekend, but it is suppose to warm up next week. I will be planting all of the lettuce and spinach plants in the raised beds later this week. I will keep a very close eye on the forecast so I will know if I need to cover the plants at night. I do not have all the equipment that I need to make this seed starting endeavor easier, but I have enough to make it work. When we bought our house, the previous owner had several Styrofoam tobacco seed starters left in the basement. I have used these to start many of our seeds. They have holes in the bottom to soak up the water. I place all of my pots in a tray full of water. I found some disposable cookie trays at our grocery store on clearance. These have made nice watering trays.

I am having to stage my seed plantings to keep in mind the amount of space I have. Seeds do not take up a lot of room, but the plants take up quite a bit of space. I find myself using Sunday afternoons to plant seeds. This is a very enjoyable project for me, and Michael is home to keep an eye on the little guy. Next year I will be happy to enlarge our greenhouse space by adding another tier of lights as well as another grow light cart.

grace and peace,

julie

March Already???

I know it has been a while since our last post. So many new changes have happened here on our farm as well as in our life. First, can you believe it is March already? I am so ready for spring, but it seems just like yesterday that we were celebrating Christmas. The seeds that we started in our make shift "green house" are doing wonderful. I can't wait until all of my other seeds arrive in the mail. I am getting that spring time garden itch, and I need to hurry and start scratching it!

At the end of February, Michael made a drastic job change. He has spent the last 6 years working at Nuclear Fuel Services as an Operation Specialist. At the prompting of the Lord, he closed the door on that chapter of his life, and he has started work as a contractor for a training company. This is such a big change for us. It is truly self employment which has been a desire of his every since I met him. (He would rather be a self employed farmer, but that wouldn't pay the bills at this stage of our life). With his new hours, he is able to work from home some. I am truly enjoying him being here, and he seems so much happier. (I had to call him yesterday and tell him: 1. the chicken tractor blew away, 2. the chickens were everywhere 3. the mastiff dog got a whim and ate a hole out of his side of the bed 4. the mastiff dog also ate his temperpedic special pillow 5. the mastiff dog also ate his side of the sheets and down blanket that my mom gave him for Christmas). Michael took it all with a grain of salt and said don't worry about it. We will take care of it. (That was unexpected. I was already looking for a new home for the mastiff dog that ate half our bedroom down in less than 20 minutes)!

The fence project that Michael and the boys have worked on for so long is almost completed. This will allow us to pick up our cow, and purchase a couple more calves. However after yesterday's wind, Michael will now be rethinking the chicken tractor situation. He will have to do something with the reamaining chickens because they are living in the barn to protect them for now.

I need to get school started with my children. Friday is a wonderful day of school for us. We have what we call Reading Friday. This is a day that we complete any unfinished projects or lessons from the week. Then we spend the rest of our school time reading GREAT books. We curl up on the couch, dump out the building blocks for the 2 year old, and we get lost in a good book. I read a loud to the children and then they have time to read their own books. As the weather warms up, we take our books outside. This allows the 2 year old to romp and play while we can still enjoy our reading time. I can't tell you how many times Jacob and Hope have climbed up into a tree and listened to our books from a comfortable limb! Such is the life of home school students. I have always spent time reading good books a loud to our children. Our soon to be 16 year old still curls up with me when he hears me reading out loud to the younger children. That to me is a wonderful treasure!

grace and peace,
julie

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!

We did finally get some snow this year. Here is a picture from our back deck of the snow. We truly love East Tenn., but it doesn't snow enough here for us. Michael and I lived in Upstate New York for 4 years, and we had so much fun during the winter there. However, by the time March was rolling around we were TIRED of the snow. It was looking pretty tired at that point due to the fact that it was always dirty. I use to go to the grocery store and buy one tulip flower at a time so I could enjoy a glimpse of spring while I was working in the kitchen. (Enough of walking down memory lane for now).

We truly enjoy being outdoors during a beautiful snow. We are planning a sledding trip this afternoon as soon our son gets back from snow boarding with some of his close by friends. We have already enjoyed the snow a bit this morning, but I was ready to get back into a warm house.

Due to the weather, our church was cancelled this morning. We were able to enjoy some leisure time enjoying homemade sticky buns, hot coffee, and hot coco. We have also been enjoying some shop time as well. Michael has installed one of my panels in the kitchen. He is working on two more as well as completing the shelves that hang on the pantry doors. I would be putting the finish on these pieces already, but our polyurethane has gone bad. This will require a trip to town so it won't happen today. I have also spent some time working on my seeds. Note to seed growers: make sure YOU water them yourself several times a day to keep them moist. If you use small laborers (such as eager or uneager children), you should at least check on their work. Our seeds haven't been watered as I had thought. We are still working with them, but not quite for sure how things will grow. Our shop is colder than usual now due to the extreme cold weather. We have a kerosene heater that we run in there when we are working if we need extra heat. I was tempted to leave it on all the time so the seeds would stay warmer, but after hearing in the news of so many house fires that claimed the lives of entire families we decided against it. It just isn't worth taking a chance. This reminds me we should all be diligent to check our fire alarms during this season. We all have them thinking we are protected, but if the batteries aren't working we are living with a false sense of security.

I got to run.....Michael just carried a pantry shelf up to the kitchen to install!!!!!! YEE-HAW!!!!

grace and peace,

julie

Rambling Thoughts

I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted. I have written many entries in my thoughts, but I haven't had time to put them on paper. Last Sunday one of my dear friends came to visit with 3 of her 7 children. It was suppose to be a short visit, but her van broke down on the trip to our house. I got to enjoy three more days with her. ( I promise I didn't pray for the van to break down). However, it was nice to have an extended time of fellowship with her and her children. So instead of computing, I spent time fellowshiping with good conversation, eating much food, and loving on her children.

Before Valentine's Day, I had meant to post a tradition that we celebrate in our home. As I have mentioned before, we have 4 boys and 1 girl. Several years ago, Michael was at the grocery store on Valentine's Day and happened to pick up a small box of chocolates for our daughter. (We have never celebrated Valentine's Day as a couple so this was truly a spontaneous purchase for Hope). He brought it home just for her, and she lit up with such joy. She was amazed that her Daddy would buy her something WITHOUT buying something for the boys. She immediately realized that this was a special moment between her and her Daddy. Michael has continued this tradition ever since. She looks forward to his gifts of love, and she works hard to return a handmade card for him. This is their special day...a time to share their special father/daughter love for each other. I truly love watching her as she spends those special moments with her Daddy.

We went to a local cell phone store today to purchase new cell phones due to a job change that is on the horizon for Michael. I was amazed at all the information that was available, and the choices were mind boggling. (And yes, we had already done our homework...just think how we would have felt had we gone in there unprepared). We quickly chose our plan as well as our phones. We then went to the checkout to pay for our purchase and to start our new plan. As the man was checking us out, I noticed the receipt kept growing very long. (I am thinking they could lower the phone service if they made the receipts a bit shorter to save on costs). Then came the kicker....yes, the price that was posted for ALL of the phones in the store already included the rebate. If the price was $79, that was the price AFTER the mail in rebate. Michael and I are intelligent people who read the fine print. We somehow missed this part of the deal. So instead of the phone costing $79 minus the mail in rebate the phone cost $79 including the mail in rebate. This brought the price of the phone to $129 minus the mail in rebate. (I am thinking the phone will cost a total of $29 instead of $79). I am feeling a bit "taken" at this point, but at the same time I am making a mental note to READ all fine print BEFORE purchase even if it requires a magnifying glass. I notice the receipt kept growing longer. This is NEVER a good sign to me. I kept thinking that my cow money was getting smaller and smaller with every passing moment! The clerk took the receipt and read it to us so we would know exactly what we had purchased. (What ever happened to knowing what you purchased ahead of time)? I thought we knew, but this is where we were told about the REAL cost of the phone. Also we were charged $50 to activate our first phone and $25 to activate all other phones. Those chargers were NOT in any fine print that I saw. I guess I was expected to know that after purchasing a phone and signing a 2 year contract that I would then have to pay to turn the phone on. Something isn't adding up with me here. Due to the fact that the phone was needed for business, we went ahead and agreed to all of their extra charges. I couldn't help but coming away feeling a bit disgruntled. I would have never allowed my children to manipulate me in this manner. If my kids presented me with information like this, I would have told them they were twisting truths and in my book that is the same as lieing. I truly wish companies would deal with the public honestly. I still bought their package, but I felt like I had been manipulated and cheated somewhat. I would have felt a lot better about the deal had everything been handled more honestly.

This story of our encounters today wasn't added just so I could whine about my new cell phone plan. However, I thought about how frustrated I felt today standing in the store. I also thought about buying and selling from good honest Christian people. That is such a much better transaction. I KNOW what I am buying. Michael and I have a dream to one day make this farm one that earns an income for our family. I pray that I always remember the way I felt today standing in that store. I felt cheated and manipulated. My heart is to provide people with a service that they want and feel good about when the transaction is completed. I was also reminded that this is the reason that Michael and I buy from Christian sources whenever possible. If that had been a Christian store, I would have called them on their manipulative tactics. I would have confronted it for what it was, and I would have had the Bible to make my case. I hold Christian businesses at a higher standard than I hold secular businesses. I
haven't' been disappointed very often with this method.

As I said earlier, Michael is making a job change. I will let him tell more about what he is leaving and where he is going. One thing we haven't addressed on our blog is the fact that Michael has been working shift work. (We didn't want complete strangers to know that he was gone all night). Michael had worked shift work when he was in the Navy, but for the last 10 years he had been on a regular shift. When Michael was on night shifts, his entire weekend was shot because he slept all day and stayed awake all night. As you can imagine, our kids were not seeing much of him. About the time his body had adjusted to that schedule, it was time to shift back to day shifts. He would have to leave the house by 5:15 a.m. His physical body didn't know whether it was coming or going. He would fall asleep any time he sat down for any length of time. He was grumpy because he hates to sleep in the first place, and he felt like all he ever did was sleep. Our entire family is celebrating because Michael will not be working shift work any longer. (His prayer is that he will NEVER have to work 3rd shift again). This is a huge deal for our family. I am so thankful that God gave us the desire of our heart in this area.

My children just informed me that the snow is actually accumulating so I am going to check it out for myself. We haven't had any snow this year other than a few dustings so I am anxious to see the beauty of it for myself. Until next time...

grace and peace,
julie

More Cabinet Pictures

Here are a few more kitchen pictures. This was before we tiled our floor. The first picture is our hutch area. He will be building glass doors with chicken wire to complete the hutch. In the second picture, is our pantry. This is truly my pride and joy of the kitchen because it is complete with swinging shelves. This allows so much storage for our food. In the last picture he put in our garbage cabinet. It holds two garbage cans that pull out. As you can see the drawers are not all completed. These cabinets are mission style cabinets, and if you look at the pictures closely, you can see that each corner of the cabinet has dark wooden pegs. Michael made these for looks only, but in the old days they would have been used to secure the cabinets together. The cabinets are oak wood with the pegs being made out of walnut. The walnut came from a dear lady that was like a grandmother to me. I played under her walnut tree while growing up. After she died, the tree was cut down, and my dad asked if he could have the tree. He brought it to us in Tenn., and Michael had it dried and cut into boards. We still have a lot of it left, and after the kitchen is done I can see a coffee table and end tables in our future!

grace and peace,

julie

Happy Birthday

Today is Michael's 39th birthday. He really doesn't put much stock in his birthday celebrations, but I always give him his heart's desire for his birthday meal. Get this...he chose Fried gizzards, mash potatoes, green beans, corn, biscuits and gravy. I made him his favorite Butter Cake with caramel icing. But who in their right mind would choose FRIED GIZZARDS for their birthday meal? This is one of his favorite meals and other than myself everybody else in the family loves the gizzards and chicken hearts. I always fry a few chicken strips for me because I am not eating gizzards.

He did take a vacation day today so he could enjoy his day a bit more without having to go to work. I bet I will find him later in his shop working on those cabinets. He truly enjoys wood working. Michael's grandfather and father were accomplished cabinet makers. His grandad made his living building cabinets in our small town. He built the cabinets for my parent's home. By the way, that was the home I grew up in, and we also had our wedding there. The cabinets are still there today, 39 years later. When Michael and I got married, I assumed that his knowledge of woodworking had been passed down to him by his father and grandfather. It wasn't until a bit later in our marriage that I found out that neither of these men taught Michael the craft. Instead it was a shop teacher in our high school that taught Michael just about everything he knew about woodworking as well as many advanced math concepts. That broke my heart, but I was so thankful that God brought this man into Michael's life. By the way, this teacher also came to our wedding!

Thus far, 2 of our sons seem interested in woodworking. Our oldest son is so respectful of the saws that he really doesn't want anything to do with them. He is truly concerned that he will chop off a body part so he doesn't express much interest in the craft. Our next two sons do express interest, and Michael does work with them in this area. When he was building our cabinets, all of our boys were much involved in the process. We were talking about selling the house at one point, and our kids were horrified. Our oldest son announced that he put way too much work into the kitchen to be selling the house! He feels the same way about the kitchen as I feel about the trees that we have planted!

grace and peace,

julie

The Hum of the Sander...Music to My Ears

Hear the sound that truly is music to my ears...the sound of my husband working in his shop on our kitchen cabinets. Here is a picture of Michael's shop before all the cleaning had taken place. He has built a beautiful set of cabinets in this shop for our kitchen. He is about 75% done with the kitchen remodeling. Tonight he has started working on the panels for the breakfast bar. He is sanding them so that he can glue them. I will continue to post pictures as I find them of the kitchen.

grace and peace,

julie

Simple Mexican Menu

I mentioned last night that I was cooking a Mexican dinner for us to enjoy during the Super Bowl. I thought I would enclose a few simple recipes for those of you who might enjoy these dishes. Let me say, these are not authentic Mexican recipes. I have adapted some of my recipes to a quicker version for those nights that I want a homemade quick meal. I use Enchilada Sauce from the supermarket, but I would LOVE to have a recipe to can my own. The supermarket sauce is expensive, and there are "things" in it that I am sure could be left out. However, I have never seen a recipe for homemade enchilada sauce. If you have one, please send it my way!

Beef Enchiladas

Brown ground beef and onions. Drain fat. Add 1 can Enchilada sauce along with a regular size can of Tomato sauce to the ground beef. Add several cups of shredded cheddar cheese depending on your liking. I use about 2 cups. Also sprinkle in ground cumin, ground cayenne pepper, and a little salt. The amounts depend on how hot you like your food. Stir well. Fill a flour tortilla and roll up into an enchilada and lay in a buttered 9x13 pan. I make 2 9x13 pans. After the pans are filled with the enchiladas, pour another can of enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, then sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese. Sprinkle as much or as little as your family likes. Bake uncovered at 350 for 20-25 minutes until warm and cheese has melted. These are great to freeze. I freeze them BEFORE I bake them. To serve, let the pan of enchiladas thaw, and then bake them covered for about 35-40 minutes.

Easy Bean Dip

In a pie plate, add one can of re fried beans. Smash down to cover pie plate. Add salsa to cover re fried beans. Cover with tinfoil and bake in 350 degree oven. After it has warmed well, take off tinfoil and cover with Shredded Cheddar Cheese. Heat again in oven until cheese has melted. Serve warm with chips.

Tortilla Wraps

8 oz. creme cheese
1/3 cup salsa
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup chopped green onions
package flour tortilla shells

Beat all ingredients in mixer except for the tortilla shells. After mixture is well mixed, spread evenly on tortilla shells. Roll up and refrigerate until firm. Cut into slices. Serve as an appetizer.

Elephant Ears

In a small amount of oil, fry flour tortilla shells one at a time. These will brown quickly so be prepared to turn them over quick. After browning both sides, drain on a paper towel. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Serve hot for dessert. My kids love these elephant ears, and they make a very quick dessert for a Mexican meal. I wait until the end of the meal to fry these because they are not near as good once they have cooled. It takes only a few minutes to make 7 of these for my whole family.

Mexican Salad

In large salad bowl mix,

Romaine lettuce torn into bite size pieces
About 1/4 cup niblet type can corn well drained
About 1/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and well drained
Croutons to your liking
Shredded Cheddar cheese amount to your liking
Fresh tomatoes if available
Chopped Green Onions

For dressing:
Mix equal portions of salsa and Caesar Salad dressing. Pour over salad and serve immediately.

Hope you enjoy this quick version of a Mexican meal!

grace and peace,
julie

Weekly Update On the Farm

Here are a few pictures of farm happenings and fence repairs this past week. Michael and Matthew are still working to finish the fences, but for now the weather is too cold. As you can see our little man Seth was also involved in the fence work. The two horses had to poke their noses into the fence repairs as well. They can't let anything go unnoticed or unexplored!

We have all enjoyed a restful Sunday afternoon complete with naps for everyone except the 2 yr old. He didn't want to nap today, but we managed to take turns napping so that he could still be tended to. We are experiencing a cold spell here in East Tennessee. We were suppose to get a lot of snow last week, but we ended up getting less than a dusting. With the cold temps, much of our outside work has come to a screeching halt for now. Our third son was begging to work on the fence today, but everyone agreed that we would all stay indoors for now.

We did put in a large order for seeds this week with Heirloom Acres Seed Company. I was pleased with the service, and I am looking forward to planting and harvesting these wonderful vegetables. We tried several new varieties, and I can't wait to see if we like them. Michael ordered his favorite tomato which is the Cherokee Purple Tomato. If you haven't seen this tomato I believe it is the ugliest tomato in the world. It is a deep dark purple/black tomato. However, it has a wonderful flavor. When I first started eating it, I would put it on sandwiches so I wouldn't have to look at it, but I have gone beyond that now. I like the flavor very much and I am willing to eat it even if it is ugly. We will keep you updated on any new/old varieties that we come to love throughout the growing season.

On Friday evening, Hope and I planted some of the seeds that we had on hand. We are starting some herbs and some flats of lettuce. We want to get some lettuce and spinach plants started so we can put them in our raised beds with a hoop over them for protection. We will keep you updated on how this works for us. This is something new that we are experimenting with for now. Hope has always loved to work in the dirt and plant things. In the past few years, she has always helped me. This year however she is old enough to REALLY help. I was amazed at how much quicker it was to have both of us working. She is very excited about all the new seeds we will be getting. She is also a great reminder for me to water the seeds. I enjoy so much sharing these things with her. I think how much farther ahead all of our children will be just because they have learned these things early on in their life. Instead of having to read and teach themselves, they will have learned with us. That is exciting to me even if they act like they aren't interested sometimes.

I must close for now. I am preparing a Mexican meal for us to enjoy while watching the Super Bowl. We usually have a large Super Bowl party, but this year due to schedule issues we decided to enjoy it with just our family. I hope you enjoy your Sunday evening!

grace and peace,

julie