What's In YOUR Bathtub?

I got a call yesterday from my mother-in-law. She said that she would be coming to our home and staying for 3 days. We are looking forward to visiting with her, and she will be here to help us celebrate our oldest son's birthday. Any time I get a call about having an out of town guest come visit for a few days, I take an inventory of all the things that need to be done before they come. The list isn't too long this time, but there is one major chore that will have to be completed.

This is a picture of our bathtub. Before you decide that we are disgusting pigs, let me explain myself. I start all of our seeds in floating trays. I tried floating them in Michael's shop, but we have had some "issues" down there. First there is a black cat that LOVES to lay on the floating trays. I know he loves his own personal water bed, and I am sure in his mind he is just "warming" the little seeds. However it is very hard for seeds to sprout when there is a very large fat cat sitting on them. Second, I can't control the temperature down there. It remains cool which isn't ideal for sprouting seeds. I had trouble this year getting my peppers and some of my tomatoes to sprout. I got frustrated and decided to float them in the tub. (My husband wasn't happy with me the first time I did this. For the record, he had to clean out the mess in order to give the youngest a bath. Now I just think he has come to realize that I could have a lot worse faults than floating seeds).

If you look real close to the tray, you can see little tiny peppers pushing up through the dirt. I knew it would work better than having them in the shop! Later today I will take the tray downstairs and clean the tub. Of course I am thankful that the seeds sprouted BEFORE my mother-in-law arrived. Again, just for the record, our other bathroom has a shower unit so we have taken showers these past few weeks!!! Our daughter has missed her bubble baths, but we all have to lay down our lives for the good of our seeds!!! Well, that's what I told her anyway. She informed me she didn't like peppers or tomatoes so she had no personal interest in these particular seeds. She would have rather had a bubble bath.

So my question to you is...What do you have in YOUR bathtub?

grace and peace,

julie

Sharing My Heart from a Daughter's Perspective

After getting married, soon to be 21 years ago, the longest I had ever gone without seeing my father was about a year. I was pregnant with our first child and my husband was stationed in New York. The drive was long, and after 2 previous miscarriages the Dr. suggested that I fly to Kentucky. Money was so short and we just didn't have enough to fly both myself and my husband home for Christmas. I flew, and he and our cocker spaniel drove the long 18 hour trek to enjoy time with our family.

I will never forget the moment I stepped off the plane. I looked around feeling a little alone without my husband by my side. To this day, I remember the maternity outfit that I was wearing, and I remember the feeling of excitement that was growing inside of me to know that I was just a few minutes from seeing my parents again. I glanced up and I saw him. My dad was standing there with eyes of blue that always melted my heart. He was smiling waiting on me. When I finally got to his arms, he gave me the biggest hug ever and that is when I saw it. I looked down and I saw something that startled me to the very core. My dad's hands looked...old. They looked just like my grandfather's hands. My mind was racing. When did this occur? How long have I been gone? As I quickly brushed a tear from my eyes, I looked into his face and I saw the man I had always known. My heart was relieved because his face looked the same as it always had. There was the soft blue eyes that always beamed at me whenever we were together. There was the large grin that usually adorned his face. My heart instantly calmed down, and it felt good to be with him again.

We had a wonderful visit that Christmas. All too soon it was time to leave once again. The years have washed away the memories of the trip back home. I don't even remember if I flew back or if I rode back with my husband. Strange isn't it how some memories etch themselves into our brain while others seem to fly quickly from our minds.

For many years, I always cried when it was time for my husband and I to leave my parent's and return to our own home. I promised myself I wasn't going to cry because it always made tears come to my dad's eyes as well. No matter how hard I tried, my chin would start quivering and instantly tears would pour from my own soft blue eyes. Upon one of those occasion, my dad leaned over to his treasured rose bush. He gently cut me a rose and handed it to me while I was sitting in our car. He smiled and mouthed a quiet "i love you". And I knew he did. I would hold that rose in my hands and smell it time and time again as we drove down the road. I would finger the soft petals and know the love of a father. I also knew the love of a husband, and he would wrap his free arm around me while kissing the top of my head as we drove down the road.

My dad had started a tradition, one that I carried out until the end. One that I still carry out every time I leave his home in the summertime. He always cut me a rose and handed it to me through the car window while speaking a soft "i love you".

The last few years of my dad's life I saw him many times. He purchased a large red truck and a travel home to park at our farm. He and my mom would drive down often to visit. I always heard the truck before I actually saw it, and my children would start running and screaming, "They're here!" Hugs and kisses would be doled out to all present. I saw my parents often and I soon learned that tears weren't needed at their departure because it wouldn't be long and we would see them again.

Then came the sickness, and the tears flowed freely from my eyes once again. I remember the last time my dad drove the big red truck to our home. When he climbed out of the truck, it was all I could do to keep from running back into the house away from this man that I loved so much. He looked so very old and so very thin. He looked just like my grandfather did. I made myself walk out to him. I made myself smile at him, but on the inside I was sobbing. I had already prayed about this moment. I didn't want to break down when he first drove into the driveway. I had asked the Lord to give me the strength that I needed to come face to face with that moment and not to cry. As I felt his arms embrace me, I was shaking but I did not cry. I smiled and softly said "i love you". The only part of him that looked familiar to me were his soft blue eyes.

I went back home for the last 6 weeks of my dad's life and I stayed to help take care of him. It was summer time. My dad was just as gracious in his death as he was in his life. The last few weeks of his life my dad wasn't able to go outside anymore. One morning I carefully took the rose pruners out to his rose bushes. I gently held the flowers and cut the dead ones off just like he had showed me many years before. Count the leaves...clip here...that will promote more blooms. I remembered my lessons well. As I clipped the dead flowers, I cried. I knew there wouldn't be much time left. After I was finished, I chose the most beautiful roses of all, and I cut them. I put them in a vase and took them to his bedroom. He was asleep. I sat down in his chair and waited for him. When his eyes opened, he saw the roses. He glanced at me in his chair and smiled. I whispered a soft "i love you", and he returned the sentiment with his usual smile.

The day I went to bury my father I cut off one of his roses. I laid it with him in his grave while whispering a soft "i love you". Whenever I visit the cemetery in the summertime, I always take a rose. It is just a token of a love that is still very much a part of me.

Tomorrow my husband will be bringing my dad's big red truck back home to our farm. My brother has been the owner of the truck for the last 2 and a half years. Tomorrow it will become ours. I am not ready for that in many ways. Just the thought of it all brings back tears that haven't been felt on my cheeks for quite some time. To hear the rumble of that truck sitting in our driveway and know that my dad won't be behind the wheel overwhelms me. When my husband made the deal with my brother, he looked at me and smiled. The truck will make an awesome farm truck. "Your dad would be happy knowing that we would be using the truck on our farm. After all, the only time he ever "wrecked" it was when he backed into a pole at the feed store purchasing hog feed for us." A smile crossed my lips. I do remember that day just like it was yesterday. I am sure that tomorrow will be bitter sweet for me. And somehow I know, that with it will be a memory etched into the fiber of my heart.

grace and peace,
julie

I Am Ready

I am ready to start harvesting produce from our garden. I have visions of beans and peppers and tomatoes running through my head. Of course, the garden isn't quite ready to yield those items yet. I haven't even put our tomato or pepper plants in the ground yet! I did notice that our broccoli will be ready to be picked in a few days. I have close to enough lettuce to start making salads, but there are no cucumbers or red tomatoes to go with it.
I am just as ready to see flowers blooming as I am to bite into a juicy red tomato. I love the simple beauty of growing and cutting flowers. During the summer months, it is rare that I do not have at least one fresh flower arrangement somewhere in my home. I usually have one in every room!

I did have a taste of summer last night. Our daughter begged to purchase the ingredients to make lemon-aide while we were grocery shopping. We mixed up a large pitcher last night, and oh, did it ever taste refreshing. I like her way of thinking!

The next few weeks will find me getting ready for the summer harvest. First, I will be cleaning out our deep freezer so that we are ready for the pork that will be coming home from the butcher. Next I will move to the shelves that I store our can goods. There is lots of organizing there that needs to be done to get ready to start canning once again. I will take an inventory of last years can goods to see how much I need to can this year. I know we are almost out of green beans so I need to plan to can more green beans this year.

Our son and his friend tilled and planted our bush bean bed a few days ago. I can only imagine how many beans REALLY got put out there. Josh said they decided to plant thicker because more is better. (That is a male way of thinking)! I went down there yesterday and spent an hour covering up bean seeds that were still on top of the soil. When he came back home yesterday, I asked him why they left so many beans uncovered. He smiled and said those were just the extra ones! It ought to be interesting in a few weeks to see just what they did down there!!!

grace and peace,
julie

Boys and Their Tractors

Boys of all ages love tractors. There is something wired in their brain that tells them tractors are the thing. I chuckle because I watch my 4 year old admire the neighbor's tractor with much envy. My husband who is 40 also admires tractors. We will be driving down the road and he will say, "Look at THAT tractor." We have been saving for a tractor and we are hoping to have the money together by Mother's Day. This is one of the last hurdles for building this farm. That doesn't mean there won't be other challenges, but this is the last BIG purchase that is needed or wanted. (Well, my husband would like a new barn, but that doesn't count because we can make do with what we have).

grace and peace,
julie

...And the 4 Little Pigs Grew and Grew

Here is a picture of our pigs soon after we first purchased them. Michael measured them them other day and they have reached the desired weight for us to butcher. We will continue to feed them over the next week or so and then take them to the slaughter house. The largest pig weighs about 240 pounds. We still have pig food left so we might as well use it up to fatten them a bit more.

I am ready for them to leave the farm. Now that the days are warmer their area is becoming more smelly. Our barn is located right outside of our bedroom and we sure can smell them when the window is up. However I don't like this part of raising our own food. I still get bothered by the fact that we have our animals slaughtered. I know there isn't anything wrong with it, and I know God gave us the animals for food. It just pulls at my heart strings. I have no idea why other than the fact that I have always been soft hearted where animals are concerned. My children all do better with this than myself. I think it is because they have grown up with this way of life and this is normal for them. I grew up in a neighborhood and I had no idea what type of face my food had before I ate it!

grace and peace,
julie

Baseball Weekend

Our 11 year old Marlins team finally got to play a full weekend of baseball. The weather cooperated somewhat. We did sit in rain and cold for our final ball game, but other than that the weather was good. After our ballgame on Friday night, our team and all the families had a cookout together. We enjoyed getting to know one another better, and it is always fun to have a cookout.
Here is our "little man". This is the child that is always a willing helper on our farm so I post many farm pictures with him. The place on his chin is the left over poison ivy that he contracted from the fence chores.

I know for many families that sports isn't something worthy of time. However, we have found MANY wonderful things that have come from participating in sports. It does take up a lot of time, and sometimes I am torn with farm chores that are going undone. There are times that I would rather be here getting things done than at the ball field, but that usually only lasts until the first crack of the bat. With 3 boys participating in sports, we do spend an enormous amount of time at practices and games. Many of you are asking "why". Why would you do that? Here is your answer...

First of all, it is fun. Our children have had fun learning new things and meeting new people. It has been good character building for each of our children. Through sports, we have discovered each child's strong aspects as well as their weaker areas. This has given us as parents practical application for character growth. Sporting events is a family outing for our family. We enjoy cheering on the participating child and visiting with other families. Sports has given our home schooled children a safe outlet to learn how to deal with people who are different from them. When our children were young, we NEVER left them alone at a practice. We wanted to be there to watch the coaches and make sure that things were being dealt with in a good manner. It allowed us to enlarge their world a bit in a safe environment. More often than not, my husband offered to help the coach at practices. The coaches are usually very happy to have extra hands to help with the task.

When our third son was 5, he was the poster child for NOT homeschooling your kids. He had never really learned to interact with other people. Honestly he didn't like very many people outside of our immediate family. He didn't even do well with his grandparents. This was a shock for us because we had 2 older boys who were very personable. When we moved to Tennessee, we knew it was time to cut the apron strings for Jacob. Michael enrolled him in PeeWee baseball and volunteered to coach. We knew Jacob would NEVER stay without Michael being on the field. (He was the child that kicked a co-op home school teacher in the knee because he wanted to return to me in a different classroom)! At his first baseball game, he got embarrassed and left the field. I was mortified, and to top it all off I was the coach's wife!!! As he began to learn the rules of the game, we realized that he had God given ability. It was the first time that Jacob had excelled at anything in his life. It gave him confidence that nothing else had ever given him. He LOVED hearing his siblings cheer for him, and he kept working harder to get better. We finally found an outlet that we could use to teach this young child, and to say the least we were thrilled. As the years went by, Jacob has become our most loving and interactive child that we have. He loves being with other people, and he has confidence in himself to talk with anybody about anything. When Jacob was 9 years old, he played on a traveling ball team. We were playing in Knoxville and Jacob hit an over the fence home run. I was delighted. A few weeks later Jacob was again playing down in Knoxville. He was the catcher for the game. I was sitting on a bench behind the plate. I watched my son make some incredible baseball moves. I heard strangers comment on what an excellent catcher that number 15 was. As the game continued, I watched Jacob interact with the umpire. They were chatting in between plays and laughing. Jacob was very polite and helpful. I broke down and sobbed because other than my husband no one else knew what this child had overcome in his short sports career. He had gone from a child that didn't like people to a child that could make a friend out of an umpire during a ball game!

This year brings its own set of character issues. Jacob is once again playing on a traveling ball team. The team is great and the coach is outstanding. He knows baseball and knows kids. That is a great combination. Jacob is still an outstanding player that works very hard. However if he makes a mistake he is having a terrible time overcoming it. He is letting his emotions rule him instead of him ruling his emotions. We are using this to teach him Godly principles about life. It isn't easy. Sometimes it can be one of the most frustrating things known to parenthood, but we won't quit on him. It has nothing to do with baseball, but everything to do with character. If he can learn this lesson in a ball game, how much better of a husband and daddy he will be someday. That is why we spend so much time at the ball field.

grace and peace,
julie

Boys and Fishing

There is just something special about boys and fishing. Upon second thought, there is something special about boys, Dads, and fishing. Michael bought our first son a fishing pole when he was about 2. It was a Mickey Mouse pole, and Matthew fished with that pole every chance he had. Our children have long moved out of the toddler stage so now we have teenagers that love to fish. The older boys are always hunting a farm pond to fish. Our neighbors have been more than generous to oblige this craving. We have a pond, but there have been no fish in it since we moved here. It was always our intention to stock the pond, but that was never a high priority for our budget. My mom's Christmas present this last year to Michael was the gift of fish for his pond. Obviously winter wasn't the time to purchase the fish so he waited until yesterday to purchase his gift.
He bought 100 catfish, 100 Georgia Hybrid Bluegill, and 3 Grass Carp. Our pond has always had an algae issue so we need to add 5 more carp to help get that under control. We didn't want to use chemicals so the carp was the natural choice.
Here is a picture of the fish as they were being released. It was a major milestone to release the fish for more reasons than one. When Michael and our 11 year old were headed out that morning to purchase fish, our 4 year old asked if he could go too. Michael and Jacob waited for the little guy to finish his breakfast and all 3 of them headed out the door for their adventure. When they got back, Michael parked the truck at the top of the field to come grab the camera. Seth, the 4 year old, was holding a bag of fish. According to the 4 year old, the truck was sitting crooked which made his seat go crooked which made the bag of fish go crooked which made Daddy not very happy!!! In adult language, the said 4 year old dropped his bag of 100 fish into the floor board of the truck. Michael was back out at the truck and he said he heard a gushing of water and he knew there were problems. They were able to save 99 of the little fish from the truck floor board, but one fish got stuck and was inaccessible. That should smell great when the soon to be 17 year old drives the truck on Monday!

grace and peace,
julie

Garden Updates

Michael and I went out yesterday evening to work in the garden. Here is a picture of the strawberries that we just planted. I am amazed that there are leaves on them so quickly. This is the first time I have ever dealt with strawberries that were dormant when first planted.

The second picture is of our squash and zucchini bed that we planted last night. I am heading out this morning to plant some more lettuce and spinach. Succession planting is the way to go. I try to replant lettuce and spinach every two weeks. I will be planting some lettuce in my broccoli bed. I use the more mature broccoli plants as shade providers for the lettuce. I noticed last night that we already have broccoli on several of our plants. It is just tiny, but it won't be long and we will be harvesting it.

grace and peace,

julie

Frost Free

Last night was a projected frost in our area. We watched the temperature closely, and decided that we did not need to cover our plants or trees. I woke up this morning and ran to the window. At 6:00a.m., there was no frost in our area. As I was driving this morning, I did notice some areas closer to town had frost. It is always hard to predict the last cold snap in April. We should be well on our way to a warm spring. However it was last year that a horrible freeze came through after everything had bloomed and killed it all.

I have been spending some afternoons in Michael's shop transplanting young plants. I am in the process now of hardening off my squash and zucchini plants. I need to get them in the ground soon. They have been doing fantastic under the grow lights and the roots are getting root bound. This is causing the leaves to turn yellow. This is a sure fire sign that they need to be put in a raised bed. I transplanted some of them yesterday, and the roots were way too crowded.

I am also sowing more pepper seeds, tomatoes, cucumbers, and flowers. I have an abundance of things growing under the lights. I would love to have more room downstairs to grow things, but I have learned to cycle the plants in and out of the lights. I used our camping table for extra space to hold the plants while they are not under the grow lights. This is working well. Last year, I used Michael's workbenches to sit things on. He wasn't pleased when he found that I had put a flat of plants on his table saw. Let's just say water and metal don't go well together...

grace and peace,
julie

APRIL 15: Last Frost and Tax Day

Here in our part of the country, April 15th is the last frost date. We are expected to get a light frost tonight. I am ready to plant a bed of squash and zucchini plants, but I will wait just a bit longer. My plants have done really well under the grow lights, and it is time to get them out in the sunshine.

April 15th is also tax day. Michael finished our taxes and I will mail them today. We had already finished our 2007 taxes, but this year Michael became a contractor. He now is required to file quarterly taxes, and the first deadline is April 15th.

Having our last frost date the same as tax day makes it easy to remember!

grace and peace,
julie

Strawberry Syrup and Strawberry Cobbler Recipes

Strawberry Syrup

1 Tub frozen Strawberries with syrup (fresh would work well too)
1 cup sugar
Heat above ingredients. Dissolve 1 Tablespoon corn starch in a small amount of cold water. I use less than 1/4 cup cold water. Stir into hot strawberries. Cook on medium heat until thickened.

This syrup is wonderful on pancakes, french toast, or waffles. I bet it would also be great as an ice cream topper!

Strawberry Cobbler
About 2 cups frozen strawberries with syrup (fresh would work fine, but you need to sugar them first so that the sugar can dissolve into liquid)

Mix: 1 Cup Self Rising flour, 1 cup Milk, and 1 Cup Sugar. Stir well.

This cobbler isn't large enough to fill a 9x13 size baking pan, but it is a little more than a brownie pan will handle. I use a corning ware dish that is a bit smaller than a 9x13.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place one stick of butter in baking dish and melt in oven. When butter has melted, dump strawberries into baking pan. Pour flour mixture on top of strawberries. Bake for about 45 minutes or until top is brown and strawberries are bubbly. (My favorite way to have this cobbler is to make it with frozen peaches. It is a quick winter dessert that adds a taste of summer to the supper table)!

I always freeze extra strawberries during strawberry season. This way we can enjoy the flavor all year long. I use ziploc freezer bags. I usually add sugar to my strawberries and then let them set until the sugar has dissolved. I then measure out 1 cup of strawberries and syrup into a quart bag, and freeze them. When I go to my freezer, I know that each bag of strawberries is a cup. This helps when I am measuring for different recipes.

I also make tons of strawberry jam for our family. This is our favorite jam in the world. I love Strawberry Freezer Jam because it tastes like fresh strawberries all year long. I also love cooked Strawberry Jam.
Hope you enjoy the recipes!
grace and peace,
julie

Strawberry Plants

Here is the bed of 50 strawberry plants. I know it takes faith (and imagination) to really believe this is a strawberry bed. When we got these plants, I wasn't even for certain which end was the roots and which end was the plant. My husband quickly instructed me, and I was off to plant. I still had my doubts because one year when we first started gardening he planted all the onion sets upside down!

We made a small mound. Then we spread the roots on top of the mound kind of like putting a wig on a fake head. Then we covered up the roots and watered. We are now ready for mulch. We planted 2 rows in our bed and we space each plant about 12 inches a part. We also soaked the roots in water prior to planting.

Our family loves strawberries and I will share a quick strawberry cobbler recipe along with a homemade strawberry syrup recipe soon.

grace and peace,

julie

Fence Is Complete/Animals Are Happy

We completed the fencing of our upper pasture this afternoon around 4 pm. Another hour of finding all the grounds on the electric fence portion and then we opened the gate. We coaxed the sheep through the previously closed electric gate with shelled corn and up into the pasture. They soon forgot the corn and were taken away by fresh green grass. We haven't seen them since.

Currently our cows are fenced out of this pasture and have access to our hay pasture in the back of our property, I'll be moving them back to the front this weekend. The horses soon joined the sheep, the last I saw of them, they were lounging near a shade tree, I hope their stomachs are not TOO full.

The Lord blessed us with beautiful weather the last three days. I took these days off from my day job to get this chore done and when you do that, you work rain or shine, so thank you Lord for all shine, it could not have been better, sunny, 75, and a light breeze.

Julie will post more tomorrow on planting strawberries and a few other things we accomplished, but I promised her I would start posting more, so this is a start. I hope to post soon on what we are learning about hair sheep.

God bless,

Michael

Still Fencing

One of our children grabbed a quick picture of Michael and I working on the fence. The weather here is always a bit unpredictable. This picture was Sunday afternoon and I was comfortable wearing a sweater. Yesterday I was in short sleeves and burnt the fire out of my arms. I have never had short hair before now and it never dawned on me that my neck would burn. Today I am sporting a true farmer's burn!
Michael is giving Jacob instructions on stretching fence. Jacob is a very willing learner. I sometimes wonder how in the world did my husband learn all of this farm stuff. (I didn't even know what that pipe looking thingy was that is known as a fence post driver)! Michael did do a lot of work on farms as a teenager. He spent many days working in tobacco patches and hay fields. That was the employment of most teenage boys growing up in Kentucky. I am thankful that our boys are learning these skills here on our farm. Our oldest son isn't thrilled with the farm thing, but I believe one day he will be glad he knows these skills.
Seth LOVES working on fences. He gets to pack his toys and head up to the field. He spends his time playing with his tractors and climbing trees.

We are praying that the fence will be completed by this afternoon. We ran out of wire yesterday afternoon. Michael went and purchased a mile of wire so I think we should have enough to finish today. Perhaps the rain will hold off for the day so we can finish the fence, and get the strawberry bed tilled and planted. I also would like to start fencing in the upper garden area so we can plant potatoes. Sounds like a busy day to me!!!

grace and peace,
julie

Fence Work Still Going

This is the field that we are fencing off for our animals. Michael still has to clear a bank between our fence and our neighbor's fence so the electric fence will work properly. We also have to string the wire on the posts, and then we pray that it will work without too many complications. I am so surprised at how much time this project has taken. In my mind, it is just putting some posts in and add some wire and then it is all done. However, that isn't farm reality. There are a lot of steps that take a lot of time to put this all together. We will be at it again today.

My seed order arrived yesterday. I was so excited to get the package. We ordered 50 strawberry plants so we have to quickly get a bed ready for planting. I already have many seeds potted up and growing under the grow lights. I was beginning to think my pepper seeds were all bad because none of the plants were sprouting. I finally brought up the trays and floated them in our bath tub, and they did germinate. It took forever, but at least I didn't waste all that time and effort. I was so close to throwing out the 2 trays and starting over, but I just kept putting it off until later. This is one time that procrastination REALLY paid off!

My husband has taken three days off from work in order to get some farm chores done. It feels so good to see progress being made. I make as much progress on my own as I am capable of, but there are so many things that I don't know how to do. (Fencing is one of them). I love spending time with him working together. I am so blessed to be married to my best friend. Not only do I get the benefits of having a great husband, but I also have a great friend that I LOVE to spend time with doing just about anything. (Except working with bees...he is on his own there)!
grace and peace,
julie

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Here is a picture of one of our many cabbage plants. I think the cabbage is doing the best of all my early gardening ventures. It has seemed to withstand the wind better than the rest.
I planted lots of different varieties of lettuce from seeds. This is Black Seeded Simpson leaf lettuce. We loved Wilted Lettuce and to make that you must have leaf lettuce and green onions. Yum!!!
I love Romaine lettuce. It is probably my favorite lettuce of all. Here is one of our little heads of romaine.
Care for some broccoli? We sure enjoy fresh broccoli, steamed broccoli with cheese, and broccoli salad. We have close to 2 beds full of broccoli, and I am looking forward to the results. I will freeze what we don't use for later consumption.

We also have green onions and peas growing. I am in a hurry to plant our potatoes, but first we have to finish the fence to get the animals out of the field. Then we have to plow the field with the neighbor's tractor and then we will be ready to plant. I best get busy!!!
grace and peace,
julie

Sunday Scripture

"The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works."
Psalm 145:9

Fence In Progress

Today was suppose to be a baseball day. However the rain came and the baseball games were cancelled. We took the opportunity to start fencing the upper pasture. It was fenced adequately enough for the cows and horses, but the sheep is another story. We needed to put electric fence up to keep the sheep in and the predators out. Today we got all of the T posts put in the upper pasture. Michael and the boys were able to get the connectors put on most of them.
Here is Michael's new favorite tool. It is a T post puller that removes old T posts from the ground. The posts come up with little effort and they are in good shape to be reused. This tool cost $45 and it was a good addition to our farm.
Here is a picture of the boys just waiting for Michael to give them instructions. One of these boys wasn't exactly happy about working on the fence in the rain.

grace and peace,
julie

Cleaning Has Begun

Fridays often find me cooking and cleaning to get our home ready for the weekend. I like to start the weekend on a good note with a clean house. It doesn't stay that way for long, but at least we start out right. By the way, Mondays always find me putting our home back together after the weekend. We are often times busy throughout the weekend, and we just don't spend enough time keeping our house.

Here lately I have found myself dreading the whole cleaning process. I have just done enough to get us by. I think I have been bitten by the Spring Outdoor Bug instead of the Spring Cleaning Bug. I would rather be outside than doing anything inside lately. I find it hard at times to conquer my own will concerning the cleaning of our home. Other times it comes so naturally to me that I enjoy the entire process. So today, I am going to discipline myself to get these chores completed. I am sure I will be happy when I have completed the tasks before me.

grace and peace,

julie

The Bees Are In the Hive

Michael got home in time yesterday evening to put the bees in the new hive. According to him, there were not many that died. There was still a lot of sugar water left in their can so I guess they are capable of staying in the box longer than a week.

When a package of bees arrive, they are in a wooden box covered with screen. Within the box is a can full of sugar water. The Queen Bee is packaged separate in a small screened box within the larger box. She must remain with the hive, but separate until the other bees are use to her. When the bees are added to the hive, the queen remains in her box. Michael removes a cork that exposes a piece of hard candy. The worker bees will take a few days to eat the candy in order to release the Queen Bee. This gives everybody time to get use to the queen so that they will accept her and not kill her. In a few weeks, Michael will check the hive to make sure the queen is alive and well. If eggs have been laid, then you know the queen is doing her job. If there is no brood, then you may have a problem. A hive cannot survive without a queen. It pays to check on the queen. If she isn't there for whatever reason, a new queen can be purchased. Again she will come in a small screened container that is plugged with a piece of hard candy. The process begins anew. To learn more about bees and bee keeping, you can purchase a copy of The Hive and the Honey Bee. We call it the Bee Bible. It is a large book that answers just about every bee question known to man

With the addition of this new hive, we have a total of three hives. We know that one of our hives is strong and the other appears to be weak. I find it amazing that one of our hives is calm and the other hive is always looking for a fight. As spring continues to unfold, we will watch the hives to see if they are functioning properly. I pray that this year the weather will cooperate and we will get honey. We are down to our last 2 quarts of honey. I am ready for a fresh batch!

grace and peace,
julie

The Ducks and the Bees

Each year our family is treated to a spring duck parade on a daily basis. Our neighbor who lives next door has a nice farm with many ponds. However, his ducks seem to think our pond is better than their pond so every morning they have a parade to our pond. Around evening time, the ducks parade back to their home for dinner. I enjoy watching this parade. I love hearing the sounds the ducks make and I am amazed at the single file line that they always walk in to get home. This parade is just as much a sign of spring as the buds on the trees.This the view in Michael's shop. He picked up our package of bees last week. His hours at work were so long he didn't see the farm in day light all last week. The bees still sit in the basement. He will be able to take some time this week to put the bees into their hive. However, the forecast is rain every day until Saturday. The bees need to get out of this box into their real hive before Saturday. I will do many things on this farm. I have overcome many fears, but the bees is one thing I just won't do. They will have to wait. Well, I did do them twice in the past. It was probably my husband's single worst idea EVER, and I don't want to revisit that experience again. I believe in the midst of the little varmints flying around my head inside my veil I made a vow to the Lord that if He would just get me out of this I would never mess with bees again. It is my plan to keep my word. Thus the bees will just have to remain in the box in the shop. I did try to recruit our 3 older boys to do the task of dumping the bees in the hive. No...they ALL remember the night long ago and the bees...they aren't interested in playing with the bees any more than I am.

grace and peace,

julie

Weekend Fun

This weekend has reminded me of Michael's early days in the Navy...HURRY UP and WAIT!! We were scheduled to play baseball, but due to rain it kept getting postponed. Here is a picture of Jacob during one of the many rain delays. We still had to hurry to get to Knoxville for the scheduled games, but then we had to sit around and wait. We finally did get to play one game this weekend.

Our family took advantage of the time. We spent the afternoon in Bass Pro Shops just looking and enjoying being together. I have noticed since our older boys are now in their teens people look at us more when we are all together than they did when all of our children were small. Perhaps it is because all 7 of us take up more space or maybe they just aren't use to seeing teenagers with their parents and siblings having an enjoyable time. While we were in the store, a man stopped our oldest son and started talking with him. It was apparent that Matthew knew this man, but I didn't have a clue who he was. As they were talking, the man asked Matthew who all the kids belonged to. Matthew grinned and said they were all his siblings. The man thought he was joking, and quickly realized that Matthew was serious. He was amazed and a bit dumbfounded. He told Michael and I that we had a nice family while shaking his head upon leaving.

I also noticed the people at the ball park watching us. Have you ever felt like you were in a fish bowl being observed? They seemed surprised that our teenager would openly show me affection in public. The people on our ball team were not mean they were just curious. I guess they haven't seen all of us together either. I can only imagine how other LARGER families must feel when they all go to places together. After all, we only have 5 children! I guess it is all in your perspective. I don't see us as having a large family. It just feels right.

grace and peace,
julie

One Tired Momma

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. This picture of Missy depicts me at the end of this week...tired. It has been a good week, but it has also been a whirlwind week for us. Michael has worked an enormous amount of hours to bring a project to completion at work. The kids have all been out of school which has given us free time to play. We have done an abundance of that mixed with some farm work and housework and now I am tired. Need I say more about Pizza Hut for dinner? We don't usually get meals out, but upon occasion I throw up the white flag and surrender to a pizza brought back to our home.

My husband and I communicate on just about everything. This past week has found us unable to chat about daily things. He has been in an area that phone calls and emails are not available, and I have not had a working cell phone to reach me when I am out. This is a recipe for disaster. I had told 2 of our children that they could have friends spend the night. He told 2 more of our children they could have friends spend the night...this all happened last night. When it was all said and done we had 4 extra kids show up last night for a night of entertainment. The night was full of laughter and fun. That was all fine and dandy until I got tired of hearing laughter at 2:30 a.m. This Momma had had enough. Finally everybody was down for the count including myself.

I am thankful for the start of a new day and praying for an opportunity for a nap.

grace and peace,

julie

Just Horsing Around

Everybody is enjoying the warmer temperatures here on our farm. Sully Man is sowing his oats or more appropriately sowing his hay. We haven't purchased anymore hay in the last 2 weeks. We have fenced our animals off from the top pasture so that it could green up and be ready for them when needed. If the perimeter fences were ready, we would go ahead and turn them out now. However, we don't want to lose any of our sheep so we will wait until fence repair is completed. The only problem is that Michael is working non stop at his "real" job...you know the one that pays the bills. There is a huge project at work that he is tending for the next few weeks so fencing will have to wait a bit.

Yee Haw it's spring!!!! We are all happy about the new season!

grace and peace,

julie

More Garden Progress

Yesterday was a garden day for our kids. Hope took off the plastic to let the little plants get some sunshine and water. We haven't gotten our drip works watering system fixed in all 3 beds so we have to water the plants by hand. Hope didn't mind that job.

The next step for our upcoming garden season was to move the chickens. We have kept them on the area where our last 5 beds are located. They have tilled it, eaten bugs, and removed the weeds. Now it is our turn to go put it all back together. Here are the older 3 boys trying to untangle the chicken fence. Don't ask how it got tangled in the first place!
Here are our beds after the chickens have been removed. There is some work to be done in here. I will post pictures of it when we put it all back together again.

After we moved the chickens, we found these eggs in one of the garden beds. We just gathered eggs a couple of days before. Seth brought in 21 eggs that day and now we have these. I am thrilled to have eggs once again.

On Monday, I also planted pepper seeds of all varieties in our shop. I planted a lot of different flower seeds too so I am looking forward to the little seeds germinating. I am still waiting on my seeds from Heirloom Acres. He told me when I ordered that it would be about 2 weeks until shipping. I knew that would be o.k. because I already had a lot of seeds to start planting. I usually have Hope help me with seeds, but on Monday it was cool in the shop. She wasn't that interested so Jacob offered to go down with me. It was the first time he had ever planted seeds with me, and I think he really enjoyed it. He helped transplant summer squash and zucchini plants into larger containers. That was his favorite part. The seed planting got mundane to him after awhile, but he stuck it out long enough to be a huge help to me.

grace and peace,

julie

Cades Cove

We spent part of the weekend with my brother and his family down at Cades Cove. We had a wonderful time. There are many historic homes and churches sprinkled throughout the cove. It was an actual settlement from the early 1800's. Several of the homes, churches, and grist mill are still there for people to see. The homes are unfurnished, but they are open for people to walk into. This is a great learning tool for children and adults too. I have always loved old churches. I enjoy walking through the cemeteries and looking at the headstones. As we were walking, my brother made the comment how much he enjoyed old churches and cemeteries. I was shocked because I had no idea he had the same desire as myself.

Cades Cove was eventually bought and became part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Forest. Here is the picture of the grist mill. The park service was grinding corn the day we were there.

This is one of the barns. I forget the name of the barn, and I would really like to study the origin of this design. It looks like a large mushroom.

One of the homes located in Cades Cove. I am still amazed at how much work would have gone into building the homes.

This home was part store and part home. The woman who lived here never married and she was known to the people of the Cove as Aunt Becky. She helped raised her brother's children after he became ill. It is always nice to go to a community that has been frozen in time. There were no electric lines to pollute the view. As we kept looking at all the gorgeous pastures I kept wondering how many sheep could that pasture hold or what a lovely place for a garden. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong time period. However, I know God doesn't make mistakes. At times, I feel drawn to that lifestyle. I think I would have enjoyed it.

grace and peace,

julie

A Glimpse into Small Town Life

Michael and I went to buy feed on Saturday afternoon. We buy it from a farmer that lives out a ways. He sells feed in bulk and he custom mixes from the recipe that you give him. We purchased 1400 pounds of feed and saved quite a bit of money. While we were waiting our turn, a man that we did not know was helping the guy in front of us. We assumed they were friends. After they were finished, the man walked back to his truck with a large smile on his face. He stopped to talk with us and told us the other man was a district manager for a large farm store throughout our area. He was raising Katadin sheep, just as we were, and he was giving a lot of information. Michael went to speak with him while Seth and I chatted with the other man by our truck. The district manager was quite helpful. He shared his recipe for feeding up his sheep. He also shared information about programs that our county is doing to PAY us for cross fencing and watering systems. Michael informed him that we did not want any part of NAIS and we would not sign up for it just to get some money. He assured us we would not need to. He then gave Michael the man's name at a local store that we needed to see to get more information. As we we were leaving, the man informed us that if we needed T posts that today was the day to buy them at the local farm store because they were going off sell at the end of the business day.

We promptly left and drove to the local farm supply store to purchase our T posts. While we were there, the man who helped Michael load the T posts was the very man we needed to talk with about the county program. He gave us a wealth of information and invited us to his farm. He also has Katadin sheep and he has some rams to sell in the next few months. Guess what we need? We need a good ram. We also extended an invitation to come look at our farm. By sharing ideas with other farmers, it allows all of us to grow and become better at what we do.

This is one small part of living in a small town. Most everybody chats with one another and a lot can be gleaned from those chats. What appears to be simple chatter actually leads to some great opportunities as well as friendships.
grace and peace,
julie

When Did it Get so Green?

As we were driving through our area last night to head to Gatlinburg, I was amazed at how green it has gotten. I was amazed that spring had sprung and I was missing it. I didn't realize how many trees had already started blooming out...the Bradford pears and the red buds are breath taking. How can a person such as myself who loves being outside miss something as show stopping as spring???? I comfort myself with the fact that it probably just all happened over night. I did notice our 2 little peach trees have sweet little buds on them. This is the 3rd year they have been in the ground so I do not plan on picking the buds off this year. My husband says we should to promote trunk growth. We will have to call the UrbanHomestead and see which one of us is accurate!! Until then...I think I will just enjoy spring.
grace and peace,
julie

Holiday Weekend

Today is Good Friday which starts the beginning of Spring break here for our family. It is a time to enjoy one anothers company and to get a few things done around the farm. I am thrilled that my middle brother will be spending several days in the Smoky Mountains renting a cabin. We will be spending some time with him and his family. Today is his birthday so for the first time in many years I will get to give him a coconut pie for his special day. We will also be spending Easter together doing a very nontraditional thing which is hiking. This whole breaking of tradition has me all confused. I haven't done the normal things that I usually do on the Easter holiday which is cook a large meal, go to church, and invite other people to our home. It is good to mix up traditions upon occasion. I have been reading several people's blogs who celebrate the Jewish holiday at Easter time. I am very curious about this, and pondering on this for next year.

We will be taking some time to celebrate communion as a family. I know many people do not agree that it is proper for a family to celebrate communion in their own home. For those people, that is the job of the pastor/priest. However it is our conviction that we are all New Testament priests (Revelation 1:6). Therefore we have no problems with communion being served in our home. It is not a conviction that we would argue one way or the other, but something that we as Christians feel liberty to do. We have spent many years as Christians throwing away all of the pagan traditions. For years, we did not celebrate Christmas or Easter because of the pagan roots. Yes, both holidays do have pagan roots, but we threw the baby out with the bath water. We went to the other extreme. As we have grown in the Lord, I feel like we have found more of a balance. Balance is good, and I am at peace in celebrating the Lord during both holidays. After all, HE IS RISEN INDEED!

grace and peace,

julie