Blessings From Home

Celebrating my blessings!

The birthday smile

Canning & Baking Bonanza

This week on the New Harvest Homestead forum, there have been questions on canning beans and how to do it.  I have been canning our own beans for about a year now and truly love having the convenience of home-canned beans instead of spending my money at the grocery store.  I don't know ... call me crazy, but if I can can beans and save us money, then I'll can beans!

So, after some discussions and answering questions, I thought I'd go ahead and can up some more beans today.  I made a small batch of baked beans (5 pints) and about 9 or 10 pints of red beans (I can't remember right now as they're in the canner).

That wasn't enough, so I went ahead and made a Pineapple Upside Down Cake, a double batch of buttermilk biscuits and I plan on making two batches of cookies:  Snickerdoodles (hubby's favorite) and Chocolate Chip Cookies (munchkins' favorites).  I should be done with all the baking by early afternoon. 

I just turned off the canner so once the canner de-pressurizes, I'll get those out. 

I haven't done much canning this summer (not compared to last summer).  Since the cucumbers didn't make it, I didn't can any pickles.  But, we had TONS left over from last summer to carry us through next summer.  Yep, that's how many we had!

Also, as the tomatoes aren't all ripening at the same time, I've been roasting and "food milling" tomatoes in small batches and putting those in the freezer.  I made a batch of homemade spaghetti last week using some of the roasted tomatoes and man, oh man, was it good!!!   I used our fresh basil and our dried oregano, fresh garlic ... mmm-mmmmm.  Talk about yummy.

We started homeschooling last week and it seems to be going pretty good so far.  We've changed the way we do our homeschool this year (as far as the way we homeschool) and we're accomplishing a lot but it doesn't feel like it...maybe because we're not doing the "busy work" we were doing last year.  We'll see how this year goes!!!

I hope y'all are all doing good.  God's blessings!!!

Red Bull - WARNING

According to an article on Dr. Mercola's site, the energy drink Red Bull may cause a stroke in some susceptible people.   You are warned NOT to drink Red Bull if you:

• Are pregnant or lactating
• Are sensitive to caffeine
• Suffer from anxiety
• Suffer from high stress
• Suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome
• Have high blood pressure
• Are predisposed to cardiovascular disease
• Have any kind of blood clotting disorder

Apparently, the drink has so much caffeine in it that it causes blood to be sticky, which may cause cardiovascular problems such as strokes.   Just one hour after drinking a Red Bull, your blood system becomes abnormal,  such as a patient with cardiovascular problems.

I only touched on a few things, but you can read the entire article here:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/09/06/red-bull-can-give-you-a-stroke.aspx?source=nl

Blessings,

Carol

Hanna Has Left The Homestead!

Wow! What a difference a few hours can make. Ms. Hanna has left the building! None too soon for me. It was a LONG night.

As I blogged earlier this morning the power was starting to flicker. It went off and then came back on a few times. I am so surprised that we never lost power. I am so thankful too that the power stayed on.

I am thankful that the storm was not as bad, as it could have been. Just listening to the Hanna's winds outside make you so thankful to have a home for protection. You just never know how these storms will turn out. God is so good!

It is a mess outside. No downed trees to speak of. We will have to go walking through the woods later and see what that looks like. There are just a lot of leaves stripped from the trees and small branches everywhere.

I can remember after Hurricane Fran in the 90's, going outside and smelling nothing but pine trees. Those are the trees that took the most damage during Fran's reign around the homestead. It was just remembering Fran that got me out of bed so early this morning. (She was a HORRIBLE hurricane.) It's amazing that simply smelling something can bring back so many memories.

One really good thing has come out of this storm. I cooked all day yesterday to prepare for power outages this weekend. I have 3 meals already cooked and in the fridge to be consumed. That means that I don't have to cook dinner for 3 days, just heat and eat! (thanks again for the idea Violin Mom!)

Well, I need to get off here and get some cleaning done. Thank you Jesus for sparing us! To God be the glory great things He has done and is doing!

Thank you again for all of your prayers! You are all a blessing to me!

Bless all who pass this way!

Amanda <><
II Corinthians 5:7

Hannah Is At The Back Door LITTERALLY!

It is 5 in the morning here in southeastern NC. Hanna has just made landfall and is blowing full force. I couldn't sleep with all of the noise that is going on outside. The winds are at 45 mph sustained. I am sure that the power will be going out soon. It has been flickering for the past few hours.

Imagine standing on the shoreline of the beach. You hear the roar of the ocean as you stand next to it. That is the sound that I am hearing right now in my house. The storm is so noisy! The winds gust and the trees are bending. It is a frightening scenerio.

It is only that know my Lord is in control that I feel at ease. Jesus is so good! He has this storm in the palm of His hands. Praise His name!

Please continueto keep us in your prayers!

Bless all who pass this way!

Amanda <><
II Corinthians 5:7

Blessings of no TV

Taco Soup

Believe it or not...IT'S SEPTEMBER!!  Those cooler temps are on the way!  I LOVE fall...it's my FAVORITE time of year!!  Along with those falling temperatures that invite us to pull on our favorite sweaters, collect pumkins, go on hayrides and build bonfires comes my desire to make wonderful, hearty soups and stews!  One of our family's favorite cold weather soups is Taco Soup!!  Oh...it is yummy, stustaining, it's even attractive to look at in your bowl.    I hope you enjoy it!!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

TACO SOUP

1 lb. ground beef or chuck
1/2  med. onion - finely chopped
1 lg. bunch of fresh cilantro - finely chopped
4-6 jalapeno peppers (depending on your taste buds & stomach lining!) - finely chopped
2 15-16 oz. cans kidney beans (UNdrained)
2 14-15 oz. cans whole kernal corn (UNdrained)
1 15-16 oz. can black beans (optional)
2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 pkg (1-1/2 TB) taco seasoning
1 c. water

~ Brown beef, drain; add onion, peppers, 1/2 of the cilantro and cook until onions and peppers start to get tender.
~ Mix everything together in a dutch oven OR crockpot.
~ Heat through in dutch oven for 45 min. - 1 hour OR in crockpot for 2-3 hours on low.
~ Top with shredded cheddar or colby-jack cheese, sour cream and corn tortilla chips crumbled like crackers.

More recent news....

aka the Biggest Photo Blog EVER!!!! Haha!

You ever get so far behind on news that you end up skipping major things, otherwise you'd have to put up like 8 posts in one day?

I do that.

But not today! Here is the whole enchilada.

We celebrated my brother's 23rd birthday a while back. THAT IS CRAZY! I was married 6mo when I had my 23rd birthday! That mean's I've been married 4 years. Okay, I know, we celebrated our 4th anniversary in June but it's just different to watch a younger sibling hit that kind of milestone....

Happy Birthday, bro!

More pics from the farm....

We stayed late.

Oh, and before I forget, which I have forgot numerous times, here is my new sink:

And here is the $5 dresser after Jonathan finished working on it and moved it to the boy's room. I wonder if it will be my boy's and girl's room before long?

Then, Jonathan's brother and  his wife visited from Florida. We went to the Zoo together and hung around for an entire week generally making constant pests of ourselves. The boys really hit it off with their aunt & uncle!

Here is Elijah with his Aunt Clare. Clare is pregnant. A month ahead of me, but I'm the one getting the strangers asking about my pregnancy. I guess by #3 you don't have much left to hold it all in. Oh, well, Jay is thrilled that I'm "showing" this time around sooner. And it is fun telling people that it's our THIRD when they ask, of course, if it's our first. It makes it seem all that more real. Our third child!

Five years ago we had our picture taken "with the bear" and it was just the two of us. I love, love, LOVE having my lovely family doubled!!!

My boys really liked the zoo.

On Friday night, a soon-to-be Air Force .... guy. .... took us up on a Cessna 172. Did I mention he's 3 years younger than me and Jay? And that made me feel old to trust him to fly us up into the sky?

The airplane was ENTIRELY TOO SMALL. It made our car feel huge when I was back on the ground. Every little thing made it dip and buck in the sky. It was like a rollercoaster without anything beneath us. My stomach churned. Samuel freaked out. I had to comfort him by saying things like,

"The airplane is just bouncy! It's fine! Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy! Isn't this fun?"

.... while resisiting my urge to grab the pilot's shoulder and beg him not to kill us all.

Right before he freaked:

A field. Full of round bales. BIG BALES, folks!

My parent's farm. I tried to get Jonathan to take pictures. I really did. He said I would do "fine". Then, after we had circled and I took the camera full of pictures and we headed back, he turns in the seat and says:

"You took all the pictures zoomed in all the way, right?"

Appearantly, he was so confident of my answer he turned back around without waiting for one. It was too noisey and I deemed it the wrong time to tell him . . . NO. I hadn't even thought of such a thing, while trying to take pictures out of the window over my son while bouncing through the sky. My bad.

I still contend that Jay is partly to blame. He should know I'm no photographer by now!

It was a good flight anyway.

And that is about all, except I wanted to share two pictures of my boys. This old picture of Samuel (he was 7mo):

And this one, of Elijah (he's 11mo but probably close to the same size his older brother was):

My little boys! They are growing up so fast! I'm so ready for a tiny little newborn that wants to snuggle and nurse, this tiny new person that is bumping me from the inside to get to know. A unique, different individual that will be somewhat like the rest of us yet totally different in a whole new way . . . .

Still no washer and dryer. I have some tile to walk on (ungrouted and unsealed) now but it's a big, big project. I probably won't be able to do laundry until Monday or Tuesday or possibly later. My hamper floweth over, but we haven't come close to running out of things to wear. So it's all good!  And when it's behind me, I shall have tile!!!

~Ashley~

The garden is almost finished.....

I picked the remaining corn, blanched and froze it yesterday.  I had to throw out some as I picked it a little too late.  Bummer!  I need to get better at the picking of corn. 

I picked two watermelon that are in our fridge.  We still have a couple canteloupe growing and all our tomatoes.  I do plan to plant some lettuce probably in a week or so.  I want to clean up some of the garden. 

Why is it, that the end of the garden season, I poop out?   As I think of this, I realize that maybe I have some character issues that need to be dealt with.  I start out strong, motivated, enthusiastic...but then I struggling to finish and to finish well.    We are to persevere...be steadfast....to be disciplined....to be focused....I see how many times I lose perspective, lose motivation, rely on feelings rather than just staying steadfast.  Of course, this is more than just with the garden.  Hmmmm....I guess I need to spend some time in prayer over this today!

I am looking forward to fall.  It is my favorite season!  I love the cool weather after such a hot summer.  I enjoy the soups, stews, casseroles, etc for dinner.   I love to decorate for fall in my house with pumpkins, leaves, etc.      

Today...the garden of my heart needs to be tended by the Master Gardener.  I need Him to just cultivate the soil, replenish the fertilize, to strengthen the roots.  What is so wonderful, is He is always there willing and able to do just that!  :)  Let the Master Gardener touch the garden of your heart today!