Spill, Fill and Faint!

Remember Spill, Fill and Thrill? Well here is what my first little planter looked like in early April. She really has really put down deep roots!


Just look at her now! She has become a little overgrown and Miss Lavender has taken up more room than her fair share! She needs to be pruned back a bit. The petunias have just about given all they can give. I'm going to try to cut them way back and see If I can get some fall flowers.




"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "




Remember what promise this little planter showed? Even though I faithfully watered or almost faithfully watered.....it got hot....real hot!




Now she definitely needs some attention! She is leggy, (I wish I was) and some of the little plants have served me all they can serve. It's time to replenish and revive! Often when I've served all I can, I need some reviving! The basil has been oh so good and I have used it weekly!






"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

Don't you just love that verse? It was one of the first verses I learned. How many times the Father has graciously picked me up, dusted me off and renewed my strength to try again....and succeed!

Tomorrow I'm going to post how I changed up my planters and what I've learned from my flowerbeds this year. I love to garden, it's just been so hot. We are praying for some afternoon showers, but we haven't seen any this week!

Hilltop Blessings,
Sheri

Weeds and Fruit

Proverbs 24:30-34
"I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man."



Yesterday, I observed the field of my family. We had a lot of weeds growing in our hearts. We were a bit unkind to one another. Some were taking liberties that were not permitted and I had grown lazy in my training. It was time to weed!

Since we have had a lot of rain lately, weeds had taken over our garden! Isn't it great when God shows similarities in the natural realm that touch the core of your heart? We got out to the garden early this morning before it was too hot to work. Some were happier than others, and some felt it was too much work, but together we were able to dig, tear and pull out the weeds!



It felt so good to look back and see some progress. It didn't take long with all of us working together to see some real change. Change also began to slowly appear on faces! Smiles and words of encouragement for one another began to flow! A little work seems to move out the uglies!



Hidden in the weeds we found some treats. God began to show me, that just because we had let some things go didn't mean that there wasn't any fruit. We all want fruit in our lives. Just because we mess up as wives or mothers or friends, doesn't mean that everything is bad! It's so easy to look at one situation and think that EVERYTHING is terrible! No dear one, there is still some good fruit hidden amongst the weeds. He loves us and makes sure to show us our faults and then reveal the good fruit that He was growing all along! Sometimes, we need to ask our Heavenly Father to give us eyes to see the fruit that He is growing in us!



We have cantaloupe! One lone little melon hidden in the weeds! There are some starts of others, but this one is actually doing something! I'm so excited! We've never had one grow before. I'm not even sure when it's supposed to be picked. I'm sure we'll figure it out. Did I ever tell you that I wasn't raised on a farm or have gardening experience? None, nada, not any experience! I'm more of your fair weather type gardener, I like to start big and then kind of fade into the cool of my home when it gets hot and dry. This year I have committed to sticking this thing out! That means that when all of my corn died, I didn't give up! Surely perseverance will pay off!



I have determined that plants that are watered and weeded regularly will grow better and bear more fruit. Isn't that interesting....if we water our spirit with the washing of the water of the Word of God, we bear more fruit. If we address sin in our hearts, we bear even more fruit!

Thank you Lord for revealing your truths to us today!

Hilltop Blessings,
Sheri

Some Yummy Breakfast Recipe's

I get up early with my husband to make his breakfast. To be honest, I'm not an early morning kind of gal. When we first married, it was the only time we would see each other until bedtime, because he was in school. I would make breakfast for him and then we would read a devotional written for newly married couples.

We did this until I had our first baby. At that point, he had to fend for himself until I could get my wits about me. The one thing we have never stopped doing is to pray with each other in the morning. That morning prayer has helped us to forgive each other so many times. It's just too hard to hold hands and pray with someone if you're mad!

Anyway, back to breakfast. Since my man eats and leaves most mornings before the children are up, I've come up with some breakfasts that can be made quickly and then eaten at different times. I certainly am not up for eating at 6:15 am! When we were first married, I was given a packet of recipes that were all 9x13 breakfasts. I have used these for years and adapted them to meet the taste buds in our home! You do the same!

Both of these recipes can be made the night before and reheated in the morning. If you are industrious, you can make them early and still have them early. I often make Cinnamon Toast Cake on Saturday mornings. You can also freeze them in individual serving portions.

Here are a couple of Recipes for you to enjoy. I will say that I use freshly milled wheat, if you don't have freshly milled flour, don't worry use what you have. Whole wheat is better, but don't get stuck, just use what you have and serve your family lots of love with it!

Pancakes In A Pan
(This recipes keeps me from flipping pancakes at the stove for what seems like eternity!)

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 T. baking powder
3 T. raw sugar
1 1/2 t salt
2 eggs
41/2 melted butter, oil or coconut oil
1 1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375. Measure flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a large bowl and mix. Put milk, egg and melted butter or oil together in a small bowl and blend. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and stir. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Place batter in a 9 x 13 baking pan (spray or grease it first). You can sprinkle the batter with pieces of cooked bacon or sausage if desired before cooking. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until golden and pick comes out clean. Cut into squares and serve warm with butter and syrup if desired. This is easy to reheat in the microwave. Enjoy!



Cinnamon Toast Cake

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup raw sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
Softened Butter
Cinnamon and Sugar mixed together

Heat oven to 350. In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients. In a medium size bowl mix the oil with the milk and vanilla. Hand mix the dry ingredients ingredients into the wet mixture. Spread batter in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake 20 -25 minutes. When it comes out of the oven, spread with butter all over the top, then sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar. Pop under the broiler for a minute or so until the top is bubbly. Be sure to watch closely so it doesn't burn!

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we have. More than anything, I pray that you enjoy cooking and serving your family lots of love. I'm writing this just as I have spoken very sternly with three little boys today. This is one of "those" training days. I think it's time for mama to come up for air and breathe a minute, before I go back into the trenches. The garden needs weeding. Looks like we can all work out our frustrations together! God bless each and every one of you.

I pray that you would know that He loves you and that you are precious in His sight!
Hilltop Blessings,
Sheri

Never a Dull Moment!

Okay, so this blogging thing is good and bad..... I enjoy writing because it gives me a creative outlet, but it does take up time. I will think of something to write, but I won't have a picture, or I will have a picture and nothing to write. I'm sure those of you who blog have realized this little struggle. I thought that instead of thinking up a whole topic, I would share what has been going on around our little farmette and all our critters! As you can see by the picture, there is always something happening here!

I could hardly wait to harvest my first ear of corn. It was going to be such a moving moment to see all those neat rows of yellow corn kernals ready to burst with flavor! Not so. I've had a corn crop failure! We've had a lot of heat and no rain. My sweet husband even bought me a special chair to sit in while I watered the corn every day. I was watering it by hand for almost an hour some days! I think all that water just made the corn more tasty for the nasty little worms that moved in to the ears! They had the corn party! The chickens enjoyed the worms and what was left of the corn! They were the ultimate partiers!

Bugs of all kinds love heat. The plants are stressed and seem to be easier to attack! The eggplant had beautiful little purple flowers just peaking out when they were infested by an army of something that ate all their flowers in one morning! Alas, not all has been wasted! My tomatoes are beautiful. I planted several varieties and they are producing half a dozen every day! I'm going to put up tomatoes this morning. I've also got plums to magically turn into jam. I just love to see my shelves begin to fill up with jewel toned jars of jelly and jam.

Our chickens are panting for a breath of cool air every afternoon, but they are still faithfully producing eggs. I had a double yolked egg the other day. I had not seen one before. The egg was huge.

We've added two sweet little kittens to our critter list. It was so funny to see our dog explain that he was friend and not foe. He is huge and looks a bit menacing, but is quite the gentle giant. He "caught" them with his paw and held them down and licked them until they were a hissing wet rag! Now they follow him wherever he goes!

We have adopted a laid back homeschooling routine and it is wonderful! We school three days a week and use one day for catch-up and cleaning and the other day for swimming and play! It's great. We are spending quite a bit of time reading books that we didn't get to during the school year. I love to see my children read!

We have begun the remodel on our basement. It is going to take some time to get it all done, but the garage and workshop have walls. There is such a big difference in temperature down there now. The car doesn't heat up the "living" part of the basement anymore! Eventually we will have three bedrooms an office and a family room down there.

We are praying about fostering another baby girl. The Lord has been faithful to lead us step by step. Our first step towards fostering is to get caught up on our classes. We will take the first one next week. We haven't signed on the dotted line, but it seems that we may go that direction again. I love children and struggle with how the enemy endeavors to destroy them at such an early age! I pray that we can make a difference in the lives of children.

Once we adopted Katie, we thought we had our girl and were done! Then repeatedly I would be giving the children things to do or just checking where everyone was and found myself looking for another child that was no where to be seen! Maybe she is waiting in the wings.... The Lord knows!

Well, I have a son that is hungry yet again! A little girl that needs some attention and another son that is trying to bring a bug collection in and another son that would like me to look at his school work. I guess it's time to get a move on! Have a wonderful day!

Hilltop Blessings!
Sheri

He Is Sweeter Than Honey or Chocolate!

Psalm 104:34
"May my meditation be sweet to Him; as for me, I will rejoice in the Lord."


Psalm 119:103
"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"


Psalm 19:9-10
"The [reverent] fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even than much fine gold; they are sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb."

Psalm 34:8
"O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good! Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him."


Psalm 86:5
"For You, O Lord, are good, and ready to forgive [our trespasses, sending them away, letting them go completely and forever]; and You are abundant in mercy and loving-kindness to all those who call upon You."

I pray that each of you enjoys the goodness of the Lord this week! His mercies never come to an end! They are new every morning. He is faithful! I just couldn't help putting Katie's first "pan lickings" up with verses that are about our Father's goodness ! Somehow they seemed to go together!

Hilltop Blessings,
Sheri

Here a Chick There A Chick!

Well, it's been much longer than I thought it would be to add the latest installment to my last post. We live such a thrilling life, that I just haven't had time to post.

You know my only qualifications for being a wanna be farm girl was that I had read all the Little House books at least nine times! I had never even seen a chicken lay an egg. I didn't even know that a chicken can lay an egg without having a rooster around. So yet again, I assured my sweet husband, that I had read all about chickens and knew exactly what to do......



He went to France for a business trip and I went to Home Depot to get the supplies to build myself a chicken yard! My father, wanting to help me, volunteered to build the Chicken Chalet. All I had to do was get them a yard. How hard could that be?

Armed with T posts (I felt so knowledgeable when I went in to Tractor Supply for T posts. I knew what they were!), chicken wire and zip ties, I was set. Yes I said zip ties. I didn't know how to use anything else. I bought bags and bags of those little things to attach the chicken wire to the t posts. It was October and 90 degrees. I worked like a crazy girl getting the yard all set up for the girls. I even built a door. Well I built a rectangle and made an opening.... I got poultry netting and put it all over the top and held it up with broom sticks that had bleach bottles on the ends. It was a sight to see! My husband was so surprised! Did I say that he is an engineer? You know the the kind that would never rig anything and does everything just so....

Well the day after he came home, I went in the truck to get the girls and their man. Our friends sold us nine chickens and one rooster. I was so excited I could hardly wait! Did you know that chickens aren't keen on being shoved in a dog crate? Did you know that when you let them out of said crate they go crazy? Did you know if you leave the door to the chicken yard open, they all run for their life?! Did you know that when a huge puppy Great Pyranees sees these chickens, he feels it's his job to chase them and bring them to you?

Then of course during this fine moment, I responded just like a loving wife should wondering aloud why her husband would leave the gate open? Wondering why those chickens weren't strutting into their new home. After all, there was this red faced man running at them with a butterfly net!


The first night at the Chicken Chalet, only had about half as many chickens as I had planned on. I finally managed to trick them into the pen. Then came the tornado. Yes we had a tornado that came through our land and literally turned the coop upside down and tore loose all the netting. Those post with the bleach bottles could only withstand so much. Again all the chickens were "free-range". Free-range means, that they live on your front porch, in your flower beds and anywhere you wouldn't want them to be. Anywhere but in the nice coop I had so lovingly made!



This past winter, I declared war on the chickens. I was tired of them, flying into their coop, eating the feed and then moving on to my garden for the remainder of their meal. Who knew chickens could fly. Laura Ingalls didn't mention flying chickens.

My husband and I armed with scissors, a ladder and flashlights, set out to find them one winter evening. Paul climbed the ladder with me holding back branches and shining the flashlight into the trees. We managed to gather up all the chickens and bring them into the chicken yard. Some of those chickens screamed like a girl when we grabbed them out of the trees. I think I would scream too if I was being dragged out of a tree from a dead sleep!

One by one, we proceeded to cut everything off of them that would prevent them from flying. My husband suggested we just cut off their wings! He added that no one eats that part anyway! Needless to say, we just trimmed their feathers real close. The next morning I walked out to the chicken yard to see the most pitiful group of chickens on my front porch! Yep, they could still get out. I really was thinking of cutting off their wings at that point!

The next night we set out to gather up our wayward girls. What could we cut now?....We cut off their tail-feathers! Now they really looked terrible, but guess what? They stayed in the pen! Poor things, they just paced the whole day!


I've noticed that chickens really are like women. They may be happy with what they have until they see another gal with something else. The something else doesn't even have to be better. What lures the discontent gal is that the other gal is "acting" like what she has the best thing since dinner last night! I've seen one girl drop a perfectly good grub to chase after her sister friend who has a blade of dried up grass! Oh Lord, help us to be content! More on girl chicken relationships later!

We are kind of a morbid group here...every time the boys bring me a lizard for examination, I suggest they go throw it in the chicken yard. It is so fun to watch those gals grab and run for their life. Rarely does the original grabber get to hang on to her prize.

Thanks again friends for sticking with me while I share a nugget (not chicken) from our life. We love it here. I pray that you prosper where the Lord has placed you. Have a wonderful week. Next time, I'll share about the vermin that love to haunt me and my vain imaginings while I work in my garden.

Hilltop Blessings!
Sheri

My Adventures In The Wilderness!

When we decided to move to the country, we knew there would be changes.....I just didn't know how many I would make! I had the vision of the quaint home in the country, with pretty flowers and gardens. A large dog on the porch, kittens in the barn, chickens in the barnyard, perhaps goats or sheep in the fields. Doesn't that sound like the perfect picture of country living?!

Well ladies...it's all imaginary! Don't get me wrong, we love the country. We love our country home and all the critters that live here! It has just been a journey of hilarity mixed with tears!
We moved here in the midst of a drought. It was 107 degrees the day we moved in. The ground was a lovely shade of parched gray! If we could have sold poison ivy from our woods, we would be millionaires! Instead we were hot and itchy!

Upon arrival, we got the house liveable. Then we took a breather until the spring of 2007. We knew if we didn't get a head start on the poison ivy, we were going to be in trouble. Goats seemed to be the answer. Interestingly enough, they think the stuff is candy! To have goats, you have to have a fence. To have goats, you have to have a guardian livestock dog, unless you want to feed your goats to other wildlife. To have a dog to guard the goats, you have to have fencing.

Ahh fencing. If you have ever fenced, you know it's not on your bucket list of things to do! After pounding in a few hundred posts (exaggeration) we decided to have the fence put up. That was another journey of fun. There was a very sweet man that we hired to come and fence. I noticed that my boys were lined up watching him work with very serious expressions. No words, no pushing, just very serious expressions. Finally I asked them what they were doing.

Jonathan: Shhhh! We are waiting for him to die. Me: Whatttt!!!! Ben: Shhh! He is going to die soon! Daniel: Look mom, he's got one of those smoke sticks in his mouth! Me: Whattt!!!! Ben: You said if we smoke cigarettes we would die. This man has smoked so many today, we know it's going to be soon! Me: Hysterical laughter. Boys, you must not sit here and wait for this man to die. Ben: No mom, we aren't, we have shared the gospel with him and are waiting for him to make a decision!

Later I spoke with the man about his audience. He told me we have very interesting children. I told him why they were so interesting! He laughed so hard and said that they had continued to ask him if he knew where he was going to go when he died!

Well, the fence did get put up without any deaths! Then came the dog! We arrived home with the dog before the fence man had even left. He instructed me to not get the dog out of the van until I had taken it to the vet for shots and a checkup. You see, this was a "free" dog. More on "free" another time. After parting with more money at the vet, we took our 50 pound flee and tick infested puppy home.

Fence up-check, Guardian dog-check! Now for those sweet little goats!!!!! We fenced a special little circle for the goats. We didn't have a barn, so they were going to use large dog crates with tarps over them for temporary shelter. (two years)

We had strict instructions to not allow them to get "bloated" or they would die! I was so afraid for them to eat too much, that we watched them like hawks on road-kill! They finally acclimated to our woods and true as told, they ate the poison ivy! They ate the honey suckle, they ate the grass, they ate the weeds and they loved roses!

One thing they did not like was to stay put! They loved our front porch! Do you know what it's like to look out your windows and see a heard of goats laying in the heat of the day on your front porch!!! They also left droppings on my front porch! My front porch with the pretty white furniture and the pretty hanging baskets. My front porch with the pretty roses planted in my flower beds! Did you know that goats can wiggle under a three inch hole in the fence? With that picture in mind, let's leave the goats on the front porch and move on to the sweet little kittens!



Our "first" kittens were named "Sweetie" and "Lou". They were so sweet. Little black kittens from a friends farm. They were going to be our mousers and snakers! If there is one thing I hate, it's snakes! A snake welcomed me the first night in our home. I found it in the basement. Fortunately, it was stuck on one of those sticky traps! It was a copperhead!

Little Sweetie and Lou were going to love us and keep us safe. We just forgot one important fact....kitty's like to travel. They like to go across the road. Okay, so now we were looking for more cats. I decided we would name our next cat "Hope"...Hope you live! She did! So did her babies and her babies after that!



We had lots of babies. The babies had babies! We were becoming a cat farm! I mean we were thriving!

This little saga is going to have to be continued tomorrow. Thanks for going on my journey! Lest you think it has all been hard, don't. We have had a wonderful journey. Can you guess what is our next addition to this little farm?



Hilltop Blessings!
Sheri