Wow, it has been a long time since I have written on my blog. I would say that I have taken an extended break from my computer but that is not the case. Since I work from home in my office I do have to work a few hours each day on my computer. Here in the country we have a slow-speed dial-up connection. Gone are the days of the wireless high-speed cable internet around here but it isn't so bad really. I suppose that I have taken an extended blogging hiatus until I could get things caught up in our family’s daily lives. It has been over two months now since our big move and I am just now beginning to feel like we are getting settled.

We have been very busy since the end of March. Early in April we celebrated Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread which lasted a week. We packed rather hurriedly from our other home and we were able to spend Passover in our new home. With the help of several friends from our congregation, we were able to move all of the furniture over the period of a day and our new home was set-up and very cozy. Most everything else that could not fit in our home was stacked in the garage, given to friends, or taken to the local Goodwill. Some of our dear friends also blessed us with a piano and for a housewarming gift they had this tuned for us. Michael and our girls love to play each day and I love hearing the music in our home.

I had a very good Mother’s Day as my dear family blessed me so much with their thoughtful gifts. This year I was not feeling the lingering depression as usually I miss my mother terribly. It has been almost 5 years since she has passed away and the time has passed by very quickly. Someone once shared with me that the grief never ends it just changes and I guess after 5 years, the hurt is not as raw and it does not sting my heart to the point where I am overwhelmed. My mother was one of my best friends and I will always miss her kind encouragement, love, and just all of the ways that she blessed us with her life and faith. I am thankful she is not suffering anymore but sometimes I do wish that she could be with us to see all the joys and even pains in our lives. My baby sister is now a mother and my nephew Malachi is almost 6 months old. My mother would have loved her little grandson and I do miss the times we could have shared together with her as she left us so early at the age of 51. The past couple of months our prayer lists have been growing longer as we have been praying for several people who are suffering with cancer. Last month, a friend in Kentucky passed away after a battle with colon cancer. Even through all of the suffering, we witness the grace and peace of Lord and it truly does pass all understanding. He is worthy of the highest praise.

Michael is enjoying his new position working for a local non-profit social service agency here in town. It has been an adjustment for us to get used to him working outside of the home as he had a home office and worked at home the past 2 years. However, it has been a great blessing as we do seem to have more quality family time. I sit here now and my heart is filled with thankfulness at the Lord’s provision. A few months ago, my heart was filled with worry, fear, and even though I trusted the Lord completely, I did have anxiety at what lie ahead. I did not know what doors the Lord would open for Michael’s employment. I did not know where we would live. For a short time, it was a scary place to be as we do not have a savings account or emergency fund to rely on and if the Lord did not open the door of provision for us then we would sink. It was not easy and times were hard for just a bit but our family kept praying, hoping, and trusting and we knew the Lord had a plan for us as a family and that He would make all things work out according to His perfect will. We are just so thankful and each day we are amazed at the awesome love and mercy of our Lord.

We moved from a really big house to a normal sized modest home and I absolutely adore this place. My heart is so content living in the country and our girls love being outdoors everyday. Even though our last home was a blessing, it did sit in the middle of the woods. The home was overshadowed by massive tulip poplars and it was continually shady throughout the seasons of the year. Now that we have moved to this farm house, we live outdoors. Early in the morning, we go out to the garden and work a few hours each day. Even though Michael and I both worked in our grandparent’s garden, this is our first official family garden. When we moved in the garden plot was already established and so we decided to be ambitious and plant the entire thing… all 65 x 80 feet of it!

This is what we have planted in our Heritage Garden:

6 rows of sweet corn

pole bean plants planted in front of the first row of sweet corn

Heirloom Tomatoes – 45 plants

Heirloom Bell Peppers – 30 plants

Strawberries

9 hills of Yellow Squash

Cabbage

Eggplant

Celery

Radish

Buttercrunch Lettuce

Mesculun Lettuce

Romaine Lettuce

Zucchini

7 hills of Cantaloupe

2 bean pole teepees

Carrots

Bush Beans

Cucumbers

Basil

Cilantro

Parsley

Oregano

Habenero Peppers

Banana Peppers

Pumpkins

Watermelon

Sunflowers

Green Onions

We are using predominately open-pollinated heirloom plants so that we can save the seeds year to year. We are also using organic gardening methods and so we are trying to manage the pests by planting marigolds around the perimeters of the sections of plants and also using a homemade bug spray of diced garlic, cayenne pepper, water and a little bit of oil. The girls and I worked through May planting a little bit each day and now we have a full-fledged garden of Amish-size proportions. The only thing is that I do not see as many weeds in the Amish gardens as I do in ours! It has been a great learning experience, and a lot of hard work, but it sure is a blessing to witness God’s miraculous creation firsthand. It is tremendously exciting to put a tiny seed in the ground and what it blossom into a plant that produces fruits and vegetables.

As a side benefit, I am beginning to lose some weight and gaining muscle strength by working outside each day. I hope and pray by the end of summer that my health will have improved and that I can lose the weight that I have been struggling to lose for the past few years. We are also praying that if it is the Lord’s will that we can have another baby in the near future. I am 33 now and Michael is 36 and we figure that we would like to have at least 2 or 3 more children, Lord willing. I have known for some time now that my health just is not what it should be and losing weight is one important step that is needed. Michael and I are also mowing 2 ½ to 3 acres with a push mower and so this is giving us plenty of outdoor exercise. This week a local homeschooling mom offered to give us a used riding lawn mower and we may just have to take her up on her offer. It usually takes us 2 days to mow the property with a push mower and by the middle of the summer, this is going to be a difficult task.

We are also happy that our barn is no longer empty. We recently obtained 7 laying hens that are 4 months old, 2 roosters, and a beautiful Cayuga duck named Mr. Frank. They are living in our big barn until we can build them portable chicken pens to put out on the pasture in the daytime. We thought about letting them free range around the farm but we have noticed an abundance of hawks in this area and the hens are a bit young yet so we are going to try to keep them safely penned out on the pasture. We hope by July we can have our pens built and then we can raise 25 broiler chickens so that we can have our own pasture raised poultry. A friend of ours just took 80 of their broiler chickens off to processing and so they will have organic pasture raised chicken to last them all year in their freezer. We are also exploring raising our own turkey for Thanksgiving as soon as we can find a breeder in our area that sells turkeys.

Now that we are all a bunch of hardworking farmers, we seem to pass out from exhaustion each night by 10pm. Even on the weekends, it is a struggle to stay up late as we are used to getting up with the chickens and going to bed at sundown. I have not slept like this in years and it feels good. I have always heard that that amount of sleep that you get before midnight is the most important but I was a night owl and seldom went to bed before 1am. Those days are over with now that we are on a farm, and we all actually seem to get a lot more accomplished since we wake up so early in the mornings.

One of the other favorite things about our new home is that we have pheasant that lives on our street. There is a pheasant habitat right up the road and this pheasant is in our yard each morning. It is a beautiful bird and in the evenings if we go to town it will run beside our car like a dog would chase a car. It is a very unique experience indeed. Sometimes the pheasant will trot through my garden and since I do not know much about pheasants, I am just praying it will not eat any of my vegetables.

We just love living in the country! It is a lot of hard work but it is good for the body and spirit. Fresh air, sunshine, and being surrounded by God’s creation sure can bring a weary soul some contentment. I love hanging the laundry out to dry and walking outside and seeing our neighbor’s goats play in the pasture. We are renting this property so it is not permanent but hopefully one day we will be able to purchase our own little homestead. I guess our ultimate dream is to have a homestead in Israel, Lord willing. We will just have to wait and see what the Lord has planned.

I hope that all of my dear family and friends are blessed of the Lord!

Here is a little nugget from God’s Word:

Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. The LORD performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. – Psalm 103:1-14

May He bless and keep you and yours,

Sharra