Blessings!

   I have come to realize that we have been so very blessed by God to be living where we are. Not that I didn't know He brought us here and blessed us with what we needed, but I think I know WHY He brought us here on our journey toward self sustaining living as He has led us to strive for.

   As you know we only rent here. Soujourners as it were. Strangers in a strange land. Our desire to own our own land and build our own things and rely on God to provide through the sweat of our brow, sometimes blinds us to the blessings along the way.

   Our last place was "supposed to be the last" before we bought our land and were able to move to where we know the Lord is leading us. We began to save and downsize and all those things in preparation. Then suddenly, without warning, out we go.

   It's a scarey thing when you are in need of a home right away, toting 50 some odd animals along with you. NO ONE wants to rent to folks with a dog and cat let alone ducks, chickens, goats etc. Prayerfully we saw one place after another. Each one "seemed" perfect until they found we had animals. The uncomfortable silence that always seems to go along with that little announcement told us volumes. We move on. ALL of those places had room. ALL of those places had barns, outbuildings, pens, sheds etc. Yet no one wanted it to be used for what it was built.

   Then, one day, we walk into this place. The house is the perfect size. It's all on one level which is good for me and Brother Craig with our little aches and pains. Outbuildings, garden space, plenty of room for everything we needed. Perfect!

   A pickup drives into the drive. We walk over to meet the agent...uh oh, it's not the agent! It's another possible renter! Not long after the agent shows up. We all walk through, looking at what is most important to each of us. The barn, outbuildings, fenced areas and kitchen mattered most to me. Brother Craig wandered through the garage, outbuildings, fence areas, and barn. The other gentleman? Sat on the porch after walking through the house and peeking out the back door.

   We took an opportunity to say hey to him, take up friendly conversation. Then he says he has been looking for a place just like this. He has no need for any of the land or buildings but he does love old farmhouses. He lived in several haunted ones and was sure this one was too:S Now don't get me wrong I've seen my fair share of odd things in old houses but searching for a houses specifically for "spirit" purposes? Seemed scarey to me.

   I don't know if there are such things as ghosts or not but I was certain of one thing. This place was filled with peace. My heart just ached at the thought of the peace being disturbed here. My husband was polite and made small talk then we went to the kitchen to discuss things with the agent. She gave us each applications and left us. The man left, we wandered around one more time and sent to the back by the river and prayed. Was this where God wanted us?

   We felt that this was someplace that we could be happy until our final move so we filled the application out and dropped it off with the agent an hour later. We prayed on our way home that the Lords will be done. We waited. And waited. Almost a week later, after we figured we didn't get the house, we received a call from the agent telling us that she had done all the checks on us and if we were still interested the house was ours! I was so excited!

   If you all remember, Brother Craig and the children and I were living apart due to his job being so far away. This house put us 15 minutes from his work! I phoned him to tell him the news and he was elated! We got straight to work and began packing.

   The story doesn't end there though...

   Several months into our renting the agent informs us that a friend of the Landlord was going to take over the rental when they move here in June (I think it was June). Anyway, we were worried. Very uncomfortable that a complete stranger would have our private information. We prayed. And prayed. The law here in Oregon says that only an owner can manage their own property without the need for being a licensed manager. Were these folks? We had no idea. Pray and pray some more.

   One afternoon, after I had paid the rent as I had not heard from anyone on where to send the rent, we recieved an email from the Landlords. They were taking over the management themselves (prayer answered). They had been seeing on our blog the things we were doing here and they were pleased (prayer answered). They were CHRISTIAN! (A MIGHTY PRAYER ANSWERED) God had overdone His blessing on us for certain this time:)

   Over the last few months we have wondered about where we would go next, when we would be going and how we would do it. As all of you probably have done, we want what we want when we want it. We make plans, we decided where we will go and what we will do. Then God puts His mighty hand up and stops you and reminds you that no matter what we want, He's in control and like a good parent He isn't going to let us go off on our own without His divine guidance.

   Just like our last place, we were concerned that we would have to move within the year. After all the Landlords want to retire here some day. They live out of state and we wondered how things would work out in the long run. We aren't ready to move unless the Lord makes it abundantly clear that we must. We prayed.

   We have been putting away money in savings every month. We would like to purchase our land outright someday. Though we are anxious to get down to buying that land, we know that we simply aren't near enough in finances to do that yet. Realistically it is at least 2 years away or more. Unless we come into money, I just don't see that happening any time soon and I certainly don't want anyone to have to die for us to get it so we wait:)

   Then just a few days ago we received another email from our Landlords. They WANT US TO STAY! We couldn't be more thrilled or feel more blessed at this time:) God has made it possible for us to stay put as we continue to save and prepare for our next adventure:) Our Landlords seem to be a true answer to prayer. They are wonderful and we look forward to getting to know them better as time permits:)

   So for now, we are patiently planted by  God here in our little haven on the river. Looking forward to our first Christmas here. Welcoming in the winter as it slowly approaches us. Knowing that we can relax and settle in here. Unpack those last boxes without the uncertainty. Blossoming as we continue to let the Lord guide us in His time:)

So are you patiently planted?:)

God be with thee!

Sister Lori

Blessings!

   Despite my aches and pains we went on a favorite family outing:) We do this many times a year but we hadn't taken any time at all since our move so we decided to pack it up and head for the coast:) To go CRABBING!:P

   We arrived in Port of Alsea late morning. We normally start out at sunrise but this was our first time to Port of Alsea and so took our time getting there and getting set up.

   We chose a nice place on the docks where we wouldn't be in anyone elses way (there are LOTS of crabbers), and set up our chairs, crab pots and cooler.

   You can see more folks on the other dock across from us.

Sarah chooses a goot spot near us.She casts the first pot...And sets it on her mark...It's important to pull and check pots often. Mary-Ann is checking her pot.The crab she has in her pot is big enough to keep but sadly it was female so back into the water it goes:(

Pulling up my pot.Sarah, untangles the crab and turns it over to check to see if it's male...IT IS! And it was big enough to keep so into the cooler it went:)This one was big enough but it was female:(We had such a great time:) Notice the sky? Here in Oregon, unlike California, our coast is more overcast and misty throughout most of the year. The day was very warm but windy. We wear a light coat or sweater to help against the winds. Sometimes the winds can be quite harsh. This day it was mild:) I also helps to have something over your neck to keep you from getting sunburned. And sunburn we did indeed:P We get sunburned worse on overcast days than in the direct sunlight. It just doesn't seem as sweltering that way:P

   We recognize folks that aren't from around here by the clothing they wear:P Here in Oregon, short sleeve weather begins at around 60 degrees. My dear Sister visited us from Virginia last year and she was freezing:P Of course, she's used to the humidity and the sticky heat. We don't have that here. It's a dry heat and we tend to start melting around 50 and by 60 we are ready for the AC:P

   It was a little sad that our boys are no longer home with us. But he girls had a good time and we had such fun just being together:) I sat most of the time to avoid making my ribs hurt worse. I admit I overdid just a little but it was worth it to spend such a sweet day with my husband and girls:)

   I can't wait till next Wednesday. We'll be doing it again only earlier:) Crabbing season will be over come September so we want to get it in before it's too late:) Actually it's not really a "season" by the law, it's seasonal by the month. We don't do shellfish in months that end in R. Something to do with the mercury poisons or something like that. Anyway, we want to get a few more in before it's time to do some fishing:)

   We will be setting our crawdad traps this weekend in the river behind the house and get some fishing in while we have some good fishing weather:) Usually we do better with the fishing come November but we live on a river so hey...why not?:P

   Have  a very blessed week!

God be with thee!

Sister Lori

Blessings!

   My dear friend Carrie suggested I post a picture of my "prideful" shoes that caused my fall last week:P I don't know why I hadn't thought of it so I took a picture and here they are:PI still like them:) Although I admit I'm a LOT more careful in them:)

God be with thee!

Sister Lori

   We’ve all heard the saying, “Pride goeth before a fall”. Have you ever thought about what that means? I asked several folks and each of them had a different answer, yet defined it the same. And all were wrong!

    To sum it all up, most folks think that the saying “Pride goeth before a fall” means that your pride is gone before you fall. That you’ve exhausted everything else and now you no longer have pride enough to keep from falling.

   The true meaning is just what it says, “Pride goeth before…” The fall itself is irrelevant! We can fall from many things but pride is singular and always precedes the fall. The more selfish the pride the farther the fall.

   I have had several days to ponder this particular saying and though I know what it means…I can’t help but seeing a true parallel here.

   What would cause Sister Lori to ponder such a thing, you may ask? Well, a FALL of course:P What fall? A flight of stairs! Yes, you read that right. I fell down a flight of stairs!

   It was on Wednesday night of this week. I had gone upstairs to put my pj’s on and decided to wear my favorite clogs that I wear all the time. They aren’t really anything special as far as clogs go, they are just plain cute. I like them because they are comfy and cuteJ CaraDD likes them too because they are “cute”J My daughters like them because they are “cute”. In fact, my girls talked me into them. I didn’t fight them too hard though:P I did need to justify purchasing them, however, since I don’t really want to have “stuff” that I don’t really need and I certainly don’t want things just because they are “cute”. I already lived that life and chose to move onJ

   Armed with my “cute” shoes on my feet, I took one step, then two, then, on the third step, my left foot flew out from under me, sent both my shoes flying off to different directions, what I had been holding in my hand was thrown in the opposite direction, and down I went. One bump after another, gaining speed as I descended…rapidly! I finally came to rest at the bottom of the stairs. Actually “came to rest” isn’t exactly correct. I actually ran into the wall at the base of the stairs and that’s what stopped me:P So, with my “pride” preceding me, I now lay in a gasping heap at the bottom of the stairs trying to catch my breath. Not knowing whether to cry or scream, or both. I chose gasping…at first, anyway:P Since I couldn’t get a breath in to cry OR scream, I just needed to BREATHE!

   I had held on to the rail with my right hand until my body wrenched my hand from it’s grip and each step, brought another thump of pain. My pride? It was with those shoes…somewhere.

   I spent all that night in agony. I couldn’t get a deep breath without causing sharp and constricting pains in my left side. (Still can’t, in fact, but that’s another post). I couldn’t sit on my left…um…cheek:s and I couldn’t rest my back even on the sofa as this only caused me more pain and didn’t help with the breathing at all.

   The next morning, hardly able to move, I went into the bathroom to get myself ready for the day and to check my poor aching self over to be sure I didn’t have any protruding bones, and I didn’t see a single bruise! How could I feel this pain without a bruise? Maybe I was making too much of it.

   I went for a short shopping trip for some much needed things and in the early evening while making a potty stop, I glanced in the mirror and oh my gracious me! Bruises! Not just black and blue but red, purple, blue, and many other colors too numerous to mention. One of the bruises, where I hit the riser, was as big as my daughters size 10 shoe!!! I now look like someone worked me over in a dark alley!:s

   My pride? I have none:P Well, I probably do but I will definitely think twice before letting my pride get puffed up like that again. This time it was just a staircase…maybe next time a cliff?

   Pride is one of those things that leaves us with our foot in our mouth. Just before we are taken down enough notches to be humbled, our pride will leap out in front of us and precede the disaster that will surely follow.

   Silly shoes. Yes I still like them. Yes they still function for what I need. No I will not prance down the stairs in them to show them off to anyone again. In fact, I think I’ll just keep my shoes in the closet and use them when I need them and ignore them when I don’t:P

   What prideful thing is trying to make it’s way to the front of your life? Are you in control of it? Or is it just waiting to “escort” you to the bottom of the stairs?:P

God be with thee~!

Sister Lori

Blessings!

   Around here, if something is empty and it has no immediate alternate use...it gets planted! This means just about anything. From tires to wading pools, washtubs to shoes:) And the creative fun makes it worth it:)

   This year, our planting season was delayed a long while. I was sure we wouldn't have a garden at all this year due to the storms, rain, snow and downright cold weather that seemed would never end. Our summer did start a little late (actually a lot late), so the girls and I decided to just start planting things in containers in hopes of keeping up with things since the ground was much too muddy and cold.

   Then when planting season finally did begin we got the garden area tilled up on a first pass but it wasn't deep enough. While Brother Craig was preparing to make a second pass over the garden to get it deeper and plantable, the tiller broke:( This meant more delays and we would definitely NOT get things in the ground. We still intend to plant in the ground but for now we have our containers and I couldn't be happier:)

   We started with tires. We had many many tomato plants that were started and needed to be transplanted and soon so we pulled in a bunch of tires from the local tire shop. They have to pay to get rid of those tires so we simply sign a form stating we will not use the tires for our vehicles and that we do not hold the tire shop liable for their condition or purpose of use. Free tires is always a nice thing:)

   The tires were planted up with 4 plants per tire. My how they've grown:)Notice that the weeds are all outside of the tires:) It's overgrown grass actually and we'll be cutting it out this weekend. Other than that, the tomatoes are blossoming and beginning to show signs of upcoming fruit for the table:)

Then there's the zuch's and squashes:The zucchini and summer are in the left wading pool. The crookneck and spaghetti squash are in the right one:)

Then there's the myriad of peppers in the small planters on the right. Those are jalapeno, green chile's, purple and yellow chile's and another I can't remember. They haven't done as well as I had hoped but we think it's because the soil was regular potting soil instead of the garden soil. Maybe a little compost and vitamins would help. On the right are some strawberry plants. They are nearly 10 times the size we planted them. They were on clearance because all the strawberry plants had been bought up and planted months ago. I don't know if they'll produce but it never hurts to try:) Also notice the wading pool at the bottom of the picture. That is our eggplant plants:)

   The container is the old horse trough. We sold him at auction a couple months ago and it's too tall for our goats so why not?:P

Pickling and slicing cucumbers in the next wading pool. They are growing so well and so quickly:) Notice, again...no weeds!:)

Watermelon and pumpkin in the yellow wading pool. Those are also growing so fast. Yes these will do a little cascading but we'll make consession for that when the time comes. They will produce enough for us to make sugar, have a few sweet picnics and can enough pumpkin to see us through the winter:)

The closest wading pool has a variety of lettuces. They were started as seed just about a week ago and we are beginning to get some sprouts already. It's always nice to have a fresh salad right at our fingertips:)

 Notice the empty tire? Well, that originally had green onions in it. The chickens liked them...ALL:P Bad chickens:P In a previous picture you can see an empty wading pool on the inside of the fencing. That is our henyard:) The pool is for their water as well as the ducks bathing and drinking. It's so nice to have everything rather convenient to the house:)

Miss Mary-Ann is our little gardener and has done all of the planting this year. She's very industrious and determined:) In fact, if it wasn't for her prodding and encouragment I think I would have let the idea of a garden go this year. Largely due to starting so late. I'm glad she talked us into it:)

With that said, she is solely responsible for all the herbs grown here. She has always enjoyed herbs and spices. Growing them for many different reasons from cooking to medicinal to teas:) She planted up anything she could find:) Some of the containers (like the oval washtub) was rusted through after years and years of use so she planted it up! It was on it's way to the dumps when she pulled it and said it was perfect for what she needed. I told her that she could plant up anything she liked if it was going to be thrown out. She took me at my word:)

This is the walkway to the front door where she has used all kinds of things to plant up her herbs:)And just opposite of these is some more plants just under the frontroom window on the other side of the pathway.Notice the little stepladder looking thing on the right? It's actually a little plant holder that we bought at a barnsale a few weeks ago for a dollar:) It was so cute and is now filled with all kinds of herbs and other plants now:) I don't have a picture of it filled up yet but I'll get more planting pictures loaded up soon and do another post on our progress:)

Well, that's it for now:) I'll go over our watering style in another post as time permits:) For now, just remember that God has given us the wonders of His creation for our personal pleasure. He has provided us with all we need to feed ourselves. He has told us to take charge of His earth and "subdue it". Grow our food, raise our animals and enjoy the bounty He provides through our stewardship:)

Have a very blessed summer as you enjoy your bounty from His hand to yours:)

God be with thee!

Sister Lori