Wow. August is almost over, and boy have we been busy! The green beans are about half way done now, and so far we have canned almost all of them. The kids don't like green beans, and I just don't get it. I saute onion and bacon and toss in the green beans. What's not to love? Bacon makes everything better, right? Oh well, one day they will hopefully appreciate them :) The past week has been nothing but nonstop corn. With over 800 ears growing in our garden, Kristi, Derik, and I have all been busy. I canned about 80 pints, Kristi took 12 pints canned and we froze at least 24 more for her as well as some whole ears. Derik froze all of his which is quite the feat while working full time and moving! I'm tired just thinking about it. The best part was being able to give some of our bounty away to friends and family. I love being able to share God's blessings with others!
This week promises to be a good one for canning spaghetti and pizza sauce. So far I've done a few small batches of sauce, but I need about 100 pints to make it through the year. Kristi and I are going to be canning diced tomatoes this year too. That is more labor intensive, but will make sure that we can use our garden tomatoes for all of our cooking throughout the year. Next week will be Potato Canning Week. Yep, it is an official week here in our family! The kids love helping to load up the washer with potatoes. This was the best potato canning tip I ever received! I load up the washer with potatoes and use the rinse only cycle with no spin and the potatoes come out clean and ready for cutting and canning. These canned potatoes are SO good. I used them in so many recipes all year long, and they make for easy quick meals. This year we are going to can beef, and I'm so excited to be able to pull a whole meal from my pantry this winter. Beef and potatoes with canned corn or beans and peaches or pears. I feel so Laura Ingalls Wilderish.
I'm also busy with school. Every year we add things and try different ways to make school an easier more enjoyable time for all of us. The kids are so bright and love to learn! I never want to be the reason that they start dreading learning. Don't get me wrong, they aren't catered to completely. There are still quizes, math is still mandatory, and all work has to be completed daily no matter how much crying or wailing is done by said children. One big victory for me was finding a way to get Alex to do his work without him feeling overwhelmed. Throwing 4 workbooks in front of him was too much. I now tear out 4 pages and hand them to him each morning, and he does his work with almost no whining about it being so much work that it will take 4 years to do it all :) One small victory in our home school world that makes the day more doable for us all. Well, time marches on and I need to start Levi's preschool reading. He loves his Sonlight P4/5 core this year, and the older kids will wander over and listen to the stories too. They loved this core 2 years ago, and it is just as much fun the second time through.
September is almost here, time flies by so fast I can't seem to catch up, but I am so grateful for all the memories that we are making.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Third Times The Charm
Over the past 2 weeks I've sat down to write, gotten about a third of the way into a post, and then had to close my computer. Life is busy here. Luke is sleeping better, which makes my days seem much more doable. I've been squeezing in finishing up my lesson plans for the first 3 months of school, which is starting back up in full swing tomorrow. With 6 kids doing school work as well as caring for a 2 yr old and 4 mth old, I feel like I need to be as structured as I can! Of course, I've learned that "structured" needs to mean completely flexible. All of my plans are in pencil, meaning I can tweak the schedule to fit our lives not rule them. With so many variables to take into consideration, I either plan of interuptions and delays or I feel completely overwhelmed and get really cranky!
To make things even more crazy, our garden is bursting with produce that needs to be canned, frozen, or dehydrated. When my Dad walked through the door and told me the corn was ready, I wanted to cry. I still need to do peaches! I've tried to get 1 bushel done on my own, and it hasn't been successful. I am acknowledging my limitations when trying to can with an infant. I still hope to salvage the last of the peaches I have for baby food for Luke. I hope he likes peaches :) I am going into the garden tomorrow morning, and will probably have a full day of canning to go with it. Green beans are still coming, and I have less than 50 of the 100 jars I was hoping for. We will have no shortage of corn either. I really want to get 50-100 jars of those too. Then come the potatoes. I need about 50 jars of those too. After that comes apples, which we use to make the best applesauce! Lia loves it and won't eat any other sauce. That's my girl! So all in all, I have about 300-400 jars or bags of food to put up for the year still. Yikes! And lets not forget the pumpkins, squash, green peppers, and onions still growing out there too! Ok, now I'm really tired, but in a good way. I love watching my shelves get full of colorful jars of food. More on my canning adventures to come.
Lia has been having a hard go of it lately. After a year of multiple ear infections, we finally decided to opt for tubes. That surgery was this morning, and in a short 10 minutes I hope we have saved her from need so many antibiotics and infections. Our prayers were answered in that Lia didn't even ask for food until 15 min before her surgery. She was up at 5:30 AM and three hours later asked for food! That is unheard of! Lia normally is straight into her chair for breakfast when we get up in the morning. I know it was all the prayers from friends and family. God truly cares about the small things in our lives, and wants to bless us. I think those small answered prayers show His love more than the big prayers being answered. Somehow that God cares about the big things, the obvious needs, seems well obvious. But, those little things, like whether a toddler is crying because they can't have a sippy cup of milk for 3 hours after they get up for the day, just show His interest in our lives. I love how God works! We can't put him in a box and claim we "get" Him.
Ok, so my post is all over the place, but hey I'm sleep deprived and running in circles these days. My thoughts are scattered and very stream of conscience. Luke is sleeping, and I'm off to sleep too. Another day tomorrow, and I pray for God's grace to lead me through the day. Because I'm tired, over scheduled, and my to do list is enough work to keep me busy 24/7 for the next 2 months. Good night!
To make things even more crazy, our garden is bursting with produce that needs to be canned, frozen, or dehydrated. When my Dad walked through the door and told me the corn was ready, I wanted to cry. I still need to do peaches! I've tried to get 1 bushel done on my own, and it hasn't been successful. I am acknowledging my limitations when trying to can with an infant. I still hope to salvage the last of the peaches I have for baby food for Luke. I hope he likes peaches :) I am going into the garden tomorrow morning, and will probably have a full day of canning to go with it. Green beans are still coming, and I have less than 50 of the 100 jars I was hoping for. We will have no shortage of corn either. I really want to get 50-100 jars of those too. Then come the potatoes. I need about 50 jars of those too. After that comes apples, which we use to make the best applesauce! Lia loves it and won't eat any other sauce. That's my girl! So all in all, I have about 300-400 jars or bags of food to put up for the year still. Yikes! And lets not forget the pumpkins, squash, green peppers, and onions still growing out there too! Ok, now I'm really tired, but in a good way. I love watching my shelves get full of colorful jars of food. More on my canning adventures to come.
Lia has been having a hard go of it lately. After a year of multiple ear infections, we finally decided to opt for tubes. That surgery was this morning, and in a short 10 minutes I hope we have saved her from need so many antibiotics and infections. Our prayers were answered in that Lia didn't even ask for food until 15 min before her surgery. She was up at 5:30 AM and three hours later asked for food! That is unheard of! Lia normally is straight into her chair for breakfast when we get up in the morning. I know it was all the prayers from friends and family. God truly cares about the small things in our lives, and wants to bless us. I think those small answered prayers show His love more than the big prayers being answered. Somehow that God cares about the big things, the obvious needs, seems well obvious. But, those little things, like whether a toddler is crying because they can't have a sippy cup of milk for 3 hours after they get up for the day, just show His interest in our lives. I love how God works! We can't put him in a box and claim we "get" Him.
Ok, so my post is all over the place, but hey I'm sleep deprived and running in circles these days. My thoughts are scattered and very stream of conscience. Luke is sleeping, and I'm off to sleep too. Another day tomorrow, and I pray for God's grace to lead me through the day. Because I'm tired, over scheduled, and my to do list is enough work to keep me busy 24/7 for the next 2 months. Good night!
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