Prayer Needs

Baby is due October 5 and I am feeling so tired but praise the Lord that I am healthy and so seems to be the baby. Even though I have been feeling down lately, I can acknowledge how blessed we truly are. We have so many resources- including family and friends that help us so much- and God has blessed us with good health these days. The children have not been sick in months!

Whoever is out there, I beg your prayers for a safe delivery but above that, please say a prayer for my best friend's mother. She has been struggling for so long with cancer but now her body is too tired and she is resting at home under the care of hospice nurses and her loving husband and daughters. She suffers with much grace and her family has been giving themselves to her service at the point of exhaustion for weeks. God gives them strength but they need our prayers too.

Thank you for remembering them (the Lusters) and me in your prayers.

Blogging Down

SO... blogging is pretty hard to do when the Internet isn't connected at my house!! It's also been a little more difficult to get to since my chores are constantly unfinished and my Michael is zapping all my spare energy.

All that to say, the blog is on hold for a bit but you can bet as soon as our new little one is born that I'll get pictures up at least!!! After that, we'll just have to see....

Much love from our house to yours!

Homegrown and Homemade

BOY, have we had a major creative streak lately- making all sorts of things like jelly, preserves, zuchinni bread, grape juice and even real cheese! The garden is flourishing- mostly- and we picked peaches last week from our little peach tree. Here are some pictures of the fun...

We picked wild mustang grapes, cooked them, strained them, juiced them and jellied them!

We have whipped up 2 batches of homemade cheese- 1 mozzarella/ 1 ricotta- from store bought milk.

We gathered wild figs from nearby trees and cooked them into preserves. (They are DELICIOUS served warm, especially with ice cream!)

AND... we mixed up our own grape juice from left over mustang juice.. adding apple juice concentrate and sugar for sweetener.

It was all very inexpensive and educational for us. Plus, now the kids can have peanut butter and jelly all year and we've only spent $8 or $10 on jelly to last that long..now if only we can figure out how to make peanut butter.... look for that in later posts!!!!

Look what flew in!

During all the torrential downpours (courtesy of the hurricane), this little bird must have been lost or confused because he flew right in our front door and would not leave.

We had a fun time running around with nets and things to shoo him out... I was the biggest sissy because I kept thinking of that sharp beak coming at my eyes- Yikes!

And... pictures of my little sweeties!