Chickens Getting Bigger

Well, here's our chickens 2 weeks later. They have more than doubled in size... I'd almost say they have tripled in size! It'll still be a while til they actually go out to their hen house in our barn, but I sure can't wait to see them in there. I'm really looking forward to our first eggs. We've already thought of a couple of people to give some fresh eggs away for free to when they start coming in abundance. We've been told they start backing up quicker than you think. I think I will use a lot in my baking.

Hannah Sick, Mommy Sick!

Hannah's been sick for a week. She's fine now but she had diarrhea and vomitting for nearly a week. It was a tough time for all of us. She was hungry all the time so she started waking again in the night, more so than when she was born. I had to change her whole outfit 2-3 times a day and she had many baths. She didn't become dehydrated though surpisingly. I was worried about that.

Now why am I feeling sick? Morning sickness! Now why do they call it morning sickness when I feel it all day? Sounds silly to me! I still feel pretty sick as I speak but I am actually happy about it. Apparently many women who don't experience nausea end up having a miscarriage. So, my body is doing what it needs to do. Why do women feel sick? Because the placenta is not fully supporting the baby yet and mommy's hormones need to be in overdrive producing abundant amounts of estrogen. Once the placenta kicks in at about 12 weeks, my body won't be having to produce it all, making me feel ill.

Baby Chicks!!!

A couple of weeks ago we bought some baby chicks. Since we already have a hen house established in our barn, we thought, "Why not"? We bought two each of the following:

Rhode Island Red

Black Austalorp

Ancona

Barred Plymouth Rock

I've heard that once you eat your own eggs you cannot go back to the store bought. Apparently the yolks stand straight up and are a rich orange color. I'm excited to go get my eggs from my chickens every day. In another 4-6 months they should be producing.

The chicks are already a bit bigger as we've moved them into a big crate (they were flying out of their home here) and now my husband is building them a much larger temporary home out of some pallets and wood til we move them to the barn in a few weeks.

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie - before going into the oven and after.

No, the baby chicks are not in the chicken pot pie!

Last week I made my first homemade chicken pot pie. It was delicious! The only problem was I wish I had made just another cup or so of the delicious filling as it wasn't the nice, round dome look that a pie should be. We loved it so much though, I think I will make another one next month. I can't wait now to make a good, apple pie with the crust. I made Matthew a pie like dish with phyllo dough layered on top. He loved it. It had apples, currants, raisins and cranberries. Added was sugar, cinnamon, cardoman, cloves and some other spices I believe, mixed with a little butter. It was delicious. He's been asking me for it again. I think I will try my hand at making my own pastry type phyllo dough since the regular pie dough turned out so beautifully. Our camera doesn't do justice to the pictures though as it's an old camera (10 years or so for digital). Hopefully sometime this year we'll get a new one and we can take some really beautiful pictures of our kids, food and farming!

Happy Family Picture

I think they all look so happy here, I just wish I was in it!

Hannah's Cute Face

Here's some pictures of Hannah's cute face! She's nearly 7 months old now. Though she's still super sweet, she's coming into a screaming mode like Elisabeth did at around this age. I'm not sure what it is that makes them want to scream and arch their back so much, but I think it's kind of funny. She is so dramatic when she does it. You'de never know looking at that sweet, innocent face of hers!

Cooking, Cooking, Cooking!

I am discovering how much I love to cook! So, I will be putting more of my love for cooking on this blog in the future. Last night we had homemade shredded beef tacos. Beef cooked in tons of cumin, salt, dried jalepeno and that's it! The tortillas we've been making for a couple of years now and we decided to make corn ones last night. They were fabulous. My favorite now! Filled with shredded beef, onion, tomato, guacamole, cheese, salsa and sour cream. My mouth is watering thinking about it now.

Okay, here's what I was going to originally post. I went in the cupboard yesterday to get Elisabeth some Gold Fish crackers to snack on and I thought, what am I doing? I could make some homemade cheese crackers and they would be better for her. I would get to enjoy making them also. So, though I don't have a picture of her cheese crackers (the first half of the batch), here's the other half of the batch with the cheese base, rosemary and parmesan. They turned out wonderful. And Elisabeth loved her little crackers. I made hers much smaller and softer. I feel safe now about her not choking on them.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

I made these wonderful homemade cinnamon rolls the other day. They rose so well that they crowded each other out a little bit. And though I made a tray of them as well, I thought they looked prettier in the pie pan.

This is a special recipe from Matthew's mother who has gone through culinary school. The gooey, cinnamon spread (cinnamon smear) was given to Matthew's mom by her instructor Steve Mione who developed it for one of the airlines. He was paid $2500 for it. So, sorry I can't share the cinnamon smear recipe out of respect for Matthew's mother.

Dutch Baby

What is a dutch baby? It is a German Pancake to die for! I do a lot of reading on baking and came across a recipe for a dutch baby. They looked so delicious I had to try for myself. It makes our American pancakes look and taste pathetic! And anybody can make this! Here is a picture I found on the internet. We devoured ours before I could even think about taking a picture. I think I will make the next one with some very thin sliced apples. Here's the simple recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Melt butter in glass pan or casserole dish in the oven.

3. Blend eggs in mixer for a couple minutes

4. Add milk to eggs and blend another minute.

5. Add flour to egg mixture and blend another minute.

6. Pour batter into pan with melted butter.

7. Bake for about 20 minutes, until batter has puffed up and turned golden brown. (It puffs up in the oven but flattens when you take it to serve it).

8. Serve with syrup (or butter, light sprinkling of powdered sugar and homemade raspberry jam). Delicious!

Use these quantities depending on how many people you intend to serve:

Pan Size Butter Eggs Milk & Flour

2-3 quart 1/4 cup 3 3/4 cup each

3-4 quart 1/3 cup 4 1 cup each

4-4 1/2 quart 1/2 cup 5 1 1/4 cup each

4 1/2-5 quart 1/2 cup 6 1 1/2 cup each

Homemade Yogurt - So Easy

This is actually an old picture. I'll take a new one when I make some new yogurt tomorrow.







Recipe:

4 cups milk

1/3 cup powdered milk (for thicker yogurt)

2 Tablespoon yogurt

2 Tablespoons of maple syrup (I like the flavor rather than sugar. You could use a pinch of sugar or honey or another sweetener. The sugar will help the good bacteria form but isn't necessary).

Prepare - turn oven light on and take yogurt out so it gets close to room temperature.

Heat milk to 185 degrees, stir often. If you don't have a candy or meat thermometer it is almost boiling. Cool in fridge to 100 degrees (feels about your body temperature). Stir in yogurt, syrup and powdered milk. Pour into container(s). I use 2 canning jars. Place on flat surface (pan or plate) in oven and cover with a cloth. Check in 4 hours and it should be done.

It is so easy and makes delicious yogurt. I have been doing this for over a year now and love it! I like using Brown Cow. It makes for an interesting texture and I get to eat the cream off the top. Yum! But, any yogurt will do as long as it has cultures. You can freeze a couple of tablespoons of your new batch in the freezer to use for starter yogurt the next time.

New Dish

We went to a swap meet yesterday where I found this pretty, old dish. It is a pale yellow. It is just beautiful to me because it will look beautiful on our table filled with a side dish in our farmhouse in Tennessee one day. I can't wait to start decorating country - farmhouse country. I am really discovering who I am these days and my likes/dislikes. It is fun!

Hannah 6 months old

Here's a couple of pictures of Hannah. I can't believe she's over 6 months old now!

Baby # 3 on the Way...

I just found out at 5:00 this morning that our third baby is on the way! This is a special baby to me once again because we are now starting to see the fulfillment of the Lord's plan for us to have a large family. Each new child of mine is so special to me... I love to just celebrate the day that I find out and be close to the Lord and wonder who this little one will be. I knew I would stay up this morning if I was pregnant so I could pray and think about what the Lord is doing in our lives.

Is it always easy? No, there are always obstacles. After my last pregnancy I fell into I guess what they would call postpartum depression for about 4 months. I am generally a pretty upbeat person but I could say it was one of the hardest times of my life. I never really believed in postpartum depression but I'm a believer now. I could actually feel like something was physically wrong with my body, it is something I will not forget. The baby was easy. She slept through the night day one and onward. It was the horrible way I felt. I did not take any antidepressants as I don't believe in them but in January when I made mention of what I went through with my obstetrician later, he shared that for most of his years in practice (over 35 years) he never believed in antidepressants either but now he's okay prescribing something for women for about 3 months and then they are okay after that. Dr. Kilgore is a very honorable and religious man, and we are blessed to have him as our doctor. Anyways, I am trying to not let my worries or fears creep in and crowd out the blessings that are there with this new pregnancy. If I ever go through what I went through after Hannah was born, I will take the helps that are out there.

I am just sitting here and still can't believe I am pregnant! I love being pregnant. It is one of the most wonderful times during my life. I have such a wonderful journey I get to go through again. I am so looking forward to it. I love wearing maternity clothes and looking like a mom. The Lord's really changed my heart on my appearance. I always had to dress for the world, whether it was fashionable in my 20's or business attire (Jones New York, etc...) in my early 30's at the FAA. Now I simply dress simple and love it! It's a lot more comfortable and it reflects who I am too. It is so nice to have been out of work for over 2 years now. I've really been able to find out who I am and see where I am going. It is really too bad that some people don't want to be a part of this journey with me.

Baby Names:

If it's a boy - Matthew Jeremiah
Girl - possibly Leah

Here I'm almost 38 years old and having children yearly. Each of our children will be about 14 months apart (I think). How neat! I know it's a bit hard at times now but I always picture one day being in the kitchen (I love to cook) and looking out and seeing all the children older and playing, doing farm chores outside. No kids playing under my feet, getting into drawers or needing to be picked up or hugged. It will be sad. I will miss this time. So, I just try to think upon those thoughts when I start to feel pressed or ungrateful.

We can't forget the important date is set for: November 2, 2008. Yikes, that sounds so far away! But I'm not even close to being ready yet either.

Uh Oh, Am I in Trouble???

Elisabeth knows she is not supposed to get onto the back of the couch and she's looking at me like, "Am I in trouble"? Observe the baby bib and baby outfit around her neck. She has recently started picking up clothing items and putting them around the back of her neck like a shawl. It's cute! She's just starting to talk. She says; mama, dada, ga (cookie and cereal), Jeese (Jesus), dogump (doggie) and some more that I can't think of right now. She's also starting to crawl onto our kitchen table which is quite big, can stack cups within each other and the other day she was playing with 3 jars of my new spices. She couldn't pick up all 3 at the same time so she squeezed the middle one that was laying down with the ones on the sides that were upright. Something we would do. We're both shocked at how smart she is. It just amazes me.

Happy Hannah

I always say this little saying to Hannah, "My happy happy Hannah". She's looking happy here! I also have a song I've been singing to her since the day she was born, "There's my little Hannah, there's my little Hannah, there's my little Hannah there she is, there's my little Hannah, such a pretty Hannah, there's my little Hannah there she is."

Me and My Girls

I think I look a little happy in this picture! I just love my girls so much.

Last day in bassinet

Here's Hannah's last day in the little bassinet. She's just starting to move around now too so good timing! Elisabeth finally got her toddler bed (we'll have to post a picture now), and Hannah is now in the crib.

Hannah's Advancements

Here's some pictures of Hannah. She's getting teeth, sitting up a little bit already and is just a doll. She is so different from Elisabeth but it could very well be the age. Elisabeth is very independent and strong. Hannah is very soft still - she has a very soft femininity about her even as a baby.

A Variety of Pictures

Elisabeth almost 18 months old in this picture.


I'm a comin around the corner on all fours chasing Elisabeth. She loves it when I do this as she squeals!

Elisabeth securing Hannah before we leave!

Here Comes the Hail!

This picture was taken a few days ago. It ended up being hail. We have had more hail storms in 2 weeks than I've witnessed in my whole life. This morning even looked worst and ended up being snow.

Elisabeth 10 Months Ago

I was going through pictures the other evening and saw this one! I just died - I can't believe how cute she was and so little when she was learning to crawl. I miss her being a baby still. It went so quick! : (

Pictures From Last Month

Here are some precious pictures I took of Elisabeth last month. I think I forgot to put these up as our storm hit the next day. I love the picture of Elisabeth standing holding her blankie, she gives me a glimpse here of how she may look when she's older one day.

Looking at me inquisitively.... hmmm.

Taking a rest

Trying on mommy's headband

Well, what can I say about this picture other than too cute!!!

Christmas

Christmas was a nice, simple day but I think it actually started many days earlier as our friend Lynn came over with her 9 children to sing Christmas carols (picture). They sounded so beautiful when they opened their mouths to sing that I had to hold back the tears. I would have pictured them all wearing white robes or something it sounded so holy. Anyways, this lady is amazing as she homeschooled all her children and they go to nursing homes every other Sunday to visit and sing hymns. God really put this lady in my life and I hope to get to know her more.

Several days before Christmas the packages started arriving from friends and relatives. We received some good coffee and food items and the girls received tons of gifts. I should have taken more pictures and plan on taking some more as the girls received a table from their grandmother (it is beautiful) and Elisabeth received a talking bear that she just loves. I will include these on this post soon so you'll have to check back on this one for more pictures.

A couple of days before Christmas we had a friend over with her granddaughter to spend the night. We sang some Christmas hymns that evening together. We didn't sound like my friend with her 9 children but I'm sure the Lord was pleased and it meant much more to me than just listening to a cd.

On Christmas we started off by having homemade coffeecake, thick cut bacon and a couple of fried eggs for breakfast. We had a relaxing day and watched Elisabeth play with her toys she received and just spent time together. For dinner I made our best meal yet - Beef Wellington. I made it with the tenderloin cut of beef and had Matthew sear it for 5 minutes then cool to room temperature. I then sauteed chopped mushrooms and shallots and a smidge of bacon from breakfast. I topped the tenderloin with a huge heaping of this then put the pastry over and placed in the oven for 15 minutes. We could almost cut it with a fork and the flavor..... We can't wait to have it again next year.

Christmas Extras

Here are a couple of homemade gifts we received from some people: Some delicious cookies from Matthew's mother, remember, she's the gourmet cook! And a lovely Christmas decoration made by our friend's seven year old granddaughter - it's made with cinnamon sticks and smells oh so good every time I walk into the living room!

Hannah Not So Happy

We had to get a picture of Hannah in one of her "natural states".

Child Proofing

I originally set this tote behind our desk so Elisabeth wouldn't crawl back there to play with the wires. She has found yet another way to get past our barricades as you can see (I also can't keep a barrette in her pretty hair for nothing at this age - little stinker).

Truly a Storm We Won't Forget

Thank God it's over! Many have heard of our great storm. Matthew's mother whom receives the New York Times read about it even from there. We lost our lights sometime on Sunday I believe and were out for nearly a week. I remember laying in bed the first night of the storm and actually feeling our house move pretty good with some of the gusts. I could tell the gusts were nearly 100 mph as they were just as powerful as some of the gusts we had here a couple of years ago in which they were 100 mph.

The next day: Our electricity was out so we did not have running water either as we are on well water. Since we couldn't flush our toilets we would place a container under the gutter and let it fill with the semi-clean, semi-dirty gutter water. I'd then bring it in once a day and pour it in our toilets as this would make it flush. On my way out to get some gutter water I stood in the doorway of the garage while one of major gusts was building up it's momentum. I knew it wasn't safe to retrieve the water then so I just stood and watched. I saw debris flying by faster than any car I've seen speeding on the State Route road down below. I was actually scared while watching the power of the wind, yet I was awestruck at the ferosity of the storm so I just had to sit and watch. I knew that if I stepped out of the doorway that I could be struck by a flying branch or other item and be killed. I've never seen wind of such magnitude before.

After coming inside we checked the phone number for PUD. The message was that we would be out for a long time as there was major, major damage. I was guessing a minimum of 10 days. We knew then that we would need to get a generator, but this was on everybody elses mind too.

Day three: We found that our major highway was closed to get to Olympia and having only 1/4 tank of gas in the car made it even riskier but we had to get out to get water as well. So, off we went. We followed the alternative route and listened to the devastation on the news. I got scared as I just couldn't comprehend the damage everywhere else - even I-5. We got to Montesano and the lineup at the gas station was atrocious. We decided to try to get to Elma. We waited for 1 1/2 hours for gas as this was one of the few gas stations opened in Grays Harbor. We got a generator in Lakewood near Tacoma and it just happened to be the last one. A hot shower felt good at our friend's home as well as cleaning some laundry. We didn't know that this would be our last shower for a while!

The next several days were a work! I washed baby bibs and cloths on the stove every day as you can see by the picture. I'd cook some yummy dinners on the wood stove though - steak, brocolli and more. We weren't lacking here. Only our yams that we wrapped in foil and placed in the fireplace burned down to about the weight of a feather. We threw them out to our dog. Dinner dishes - we used paper plates and paper bowls. I'd then warm a huge pot of water on the woodstove each evening and clean up the whole kitchen cleaner than when I think we have electricity.

Water - I bought over 12 gallons of water on our day out to get the generator. We went through this quick so I contacted the fire department and they referred me over to the City of Aberdeen Water Department. I could fill up our containers for free. Our neighbor behind us has a natural spring or artesian well water he gave us (5 gallons), he shared that it would be the best water we ever did have. He was absolutely right!

Our generator was so wonderful to have. To have the freezers and refridgerators going full speed as to not lose our beef was so worth it. To have a lamp on or a heater to warm up Elisabeth's room was secondary but so appreciated. Having a bowl of water and disinfectant in the bathroom and the kitchen sink, those things you just don't think of having to do when you have running water. I never so much appreciated running water as I have. Electricity is one thing but for me it was the running water that was the greatest need for running the home. I hope to have a hand pump for our water one day.

So, we're all up and running now. The storm is already quickly being forgotten, but I know I won't forget it yet either.

Good Ole White Bread

Here's a loaf of white bread I made just a day or two before our storm. It was delicious with fresh butter. I love making bread now. I started last year and it was a bit of a struggle - not to mention the flatest bread I ever did see. I put it down for a time but recently decided to give it a try again and now it seems so much easier and enjoyable! I don't even follow measurements but do it by the feel of the dough.