Produce Mania-

Our first time freezing corn as a family-it was SO SO good-the best corn we have ever eaten!

WE GOT OUR CORN AT A WONDERFUL FAMILY FARM NEAR BROOKS OREGON http://www.schlechterfarms.com/

 

We were thrilled to discover Salem Harvest this year-http://www.salemharvest.org/ they have tons of crops each year that are either donated, or ones that have been picked and there are tons left over.  This idea was originally taken from the Bible in Leviticus "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.'"

How it works is the farms contact Salem Harvest and they arrange volunteers to come and pick the rest of their crops.  You give 1/2 of what you pick to the Salem Food Bank and you get to keep the other 1/2 of what you pick-it is totally awesome and all FREE.  I love the idea that our family can help the food bank too and that we are teaching our kids lessons in serving.  Our first crop was onions, and then we are doing apples this Saturday.

Haile tries to make his eyes less painful! :-)

Seble trying to taste an onion!

Ouchy eyes!  The kids lasted about 15 minutes!

Don't cry cassidy! :-)

Applesauce-homemade-nothing better-it is so good!!!

WE GOT OUR APPLES FOR THE FIRST BATCH AT A GREAT FARM ALSO NEAR BROOKS, OREGON:

http://oregonfruitfarm.blogspot.com/

Making and Freezing Apple Pie Filling and Apple Crisp Filling

Making Apple Butter

Thank you to our dear friend - Ann Snelling and her parents(our neighbor Art Gregg) for giving us this wonderful Victorio Strainer- what a huge time saver!  What a precious gift!

 

 

 

 

 

I love teaching our kids the basics of preserving food-it just doesn't even compare to what you can buy in the store-it is so good and so much better for you-and they actually will eat things that they help make-amazing! :-)  Adam and the kids are going to be picking more this weekend for another Salem Harvest day-so more apples are in store for us! :-)

NOW SEEDS....START GROWING!!

As I sat next to my son in bed tonight listening to him read aloud to me, I was feeling something that is starting to appear in my senses more and more and that was pride.  I am proud of his ability to learn so quickly and in only 10 weeks home, be able to read short stories, even if it is with help from me.As we neared the end of the story, I felt amazed as I related this short story to our new children.  The end gave me goosebumps as I read it and realized this is just what our little ones need.  These are things we have done, and my little seeds are starting to be less afraid and are starting to sprout up.  They are starting to shoot their roots deeper into the soil and it is truly amazing to watch and to be a part of it.  Thank you Father for allowing me this privilege that I almost missed.  Here is the story~ The GardenWhat do seeds need to grow? Frog was in his garden. Toad came walking by. “What a fine garden you have, Frog,” he said.“Yes,” said Frog. “It is very nice, but it was hard work.”“I wish I had a garden,” said Toad. “Here are some flower seeds. Plant them in the ground,” said Frog, “and soon you will have a garden.”“How soon?” asked Toad. “Quite soon,” said Frog. Toad ran home. He planted the flower seeds.“Now seeds,” said Toad, “start growing.”Toad walked up and down a few times. The seeds did not start to grow.Toad put his head close to the ground and said loudly, “Now seeds, start growing!”Toad looked at the ground again. The seeds did not start to grow.Toad put his head very close to the ground and shouted, “NOW SEEDS, START GROWING!” Frog came running up the path. “What is all this noise?” he asked. “My seeds will not grow,” said Toad. “You are shouting too much,” said Frog. “These poor seeds are afraid to grow.” “My seeds are afraid to grow?” asked Toad. “Of course,” said Frog. “Leave them alone for a few days. Let the sun shine on them, let the rain fall on them. Soon your seeds will start to grow.” That night Toad looked out of his window. “Drat!” said Toad. “My seeds have not started to grow. They must be afraid of the dark.” Toad went out to his garden with some candles. “I will read the seeds a story,” said Toad. “Then they will not be afraid.”Toad read a long story to his seeds. All the next day Toad sang songs to his seeds.And all the next day Toad read poems to his seeds.And all the next day Toad played music for his seeds.Toad looked at the ground. The seeds still did not start to grow. “What shall I do?” cried Toad. “These must be the most frightened seeds in the whole world!” Then Toad felt very tired, and he fell asleep. “Toad, Toad, wake up,” said Frog. “Look at your garden!”Toad looked at his garden. Little green plants were coming up out of the ground. “At last,” shouted Toad, “my seeds have stopped being afraid to grow!” 
“And now you will have a nice garden too,” said Frog. “Yes,” said Toad, “but you were right, Frog. It was very hard work!”

 

Isaiah 58:11 "The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail".

My Sister's Beautiful Creations!

So proud of my sister-here is her site where she is selling her egg and nest necklaces-if you haven't see them, check them out!!!

https://sites.google.com/site/anestbydesign/home

 

LIGHT BREAKING THROUGH~

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:5

God is so faithful-this thought goes through my mind so many times a day, as I see His light starting to break into the shadows.

I am learning more and more all the time that clinging to Him is the place that He wants us to be, and as our roots start to attach to each other and as we work hard to build our new family, we are beginning to see some light shooting into our lives.

The sustaining part is that we don't walk alone!  This walk, I am learning, is all about faith and grace.  We stepped out in faith because we felt that God was leading us to do more, to reach out and take a chance for two little lives that needed to not only have a family, but in the bigger perspective, to be raised to know Him.

Now that we are in it, faith has taken on a whole new meaning, but this is where His grace enters. The things that seem insurmountable, that are sitting there in front of us, are stinking scary!
Haile is already 13, which means we have only a short time to teach him all that he needs to learn.  I keep thinking, "HOW are we going to do it all, how will we teach him everything he needs to know to function on his own and live in America?  He has missed so much already and is at about the level of a small child in terms of knowledge.  He should have had 13 years to learn these things and we are starting at square one, with only a very short time left to teach him!"  It is so overwhelming, this task.  From cultural norms, to reading, writing, speaking English, to teaching him about Jesus, integrity, values and safety issues, just to list a very few.  It can make me crazy to think of the job we have.

But, just when I start to think of all of the "what-ifs", God sends what I need.  He did this in the form of a dear lady, whom I consider a cherished friend.  She came over, prayed with me and reminded me, ever so gently, that "This isn't your thing, this is GOD'S thing.  These are HIS children and He has the plan. You just have to walk with him, let him lead you and turn these kids over to the Lord, as you do the best that you can.  He will write out their futures."

Wow, and then just like a light coming on, I realized that this isn't about how WE will teach them these things.  This is God's thing, this all is about being obedient to HIM.  He ordained this, it is His plan, and it is His, these kids are HIS.  HE is writing this story, their story.
And I take a deep breath and pray, "Use me Lord"....
"Through the good, through the hard, I want to be in this story, I want to be used by You and I want to be In Your Plan-right in the middle of it.  Right where it is hard, because it is in the hard that we are right where we should be-clinging to our Savior."

We have to have trust that God is leading us, in order to get through this journey and to keep walking on, keep working hard, and simply to keep stretching ourselves to the point that it hurts.
I can't imagine doing this without Him!

Another mom that has been home about the same length as us said this, "If we would just trust that God is bigger than us, that He knows better than us, and that He has only our best interests in mind....then maybe we would be willing to obey Him just a little more often." Read the rest here - love her writings-can so relate!:
http://www.ourgreat8.com/2012/10/03/3-months-together-many-wonders/

This may sound weird to some people, but as I think about growth, (and I am sure that being an OB nurse has caused me to relate how I feel to a pregnancy issue). But one thought that comes to mind, about this time in our lives, is the thought of stretch marks that pregnant women often get. They are there, and they may not be pretty, and they leave "scars", but something beautiful comes from them. This is how walking the journey of adopting older children is. There are things in their life that are already scarred, but yet because of these things that are happening, something beautiful will come from these scars.

The hard is hard, it is sad, frustrating, and there are points that I want to turn and run.  But we walk on, and Jesus is walking right beside us -and at times carrying us.

The good is wonderful-the hugs, the kisses, the "I love you moms" they are all worth it and this is the light that is beginning to shine through.
But the hard is simply hard.  It hurts, it is trying, and it isn't fun.  It is so about repeating the same things over and over.  About trying for the 10th time that day to teach the same SINGLE lesson.  BUT, it is necessary, it is where He wants us, and it is a process of tremendous growth.  Do I always like it, NO.  It is always easy, fun, wonderful? No, but I feel it is necessary.  I WANT to be where He wants me.

Taken from a friends post on FB-love it- SO true! ....
"It is HARD, but IT IS GOOD. Don't ever let the hard (or fear of hard) stop you. If He gives it - RUN with it. By His grace, amidst the ugly, there is GLORY."

SPECIAL BIRTHDAY GIFT FROM MY SISTER!

MY SISTER MADE THIS NECKLACE AND IF YOU DON'T NOTICE-IT HAS 5 WHITE EGGS AND 3 BROWN ONES SITTING IN A NEST!! HOW AWESOME IS THAT? I COULDN'T LOVE IT MORE! IF ANYONE WANTS HER TO MAKE ONE FOR THEM-LET ME KNOW AND I CAN PUT YOU IN TOUCH WITH HER. SHE IS GOING TO MAKE THEM AND SELL THEM FOR THEIR ADOPTION! They will be $25 each so you can message me if you are interested and I can give you her contact information.   

FIRST DAY OF NEW SCHOOL!