Handprints on the Wall

If you are a daughter, have a daughter, or may have a daughter one day, here is a gem of a product that you’ll want to hear about.

Vision Forum has recently put out an 8-disk MP3 set called:

True Beauty: Cultivating Christ-Centered father-daughter relationships

In this series, Douglas Phillips (founder of Vision forum) and a number of other speakers discuss the father-daughter relationship and what Scripture has to say about it. Here is an excerpt from Vision Forum’s website:

God’s Word speaks volumes to the relationship between fathers and daughters. One of his most sacred duties is her protection and preservation from childhood to virtuous womanhood. In these powerful messages given at the 2008 Father and Daughter Discipleship Retreat, speakers Doug Phillips, Scott Brown, Geoffrey Botkin and daughters Anna Sophia and Elizabeth Botkin illustrate elements of this important priority as they explore such topics as how to build the father-daughter bond, true feminine beauty, the Proverbs 31 woman, how to transition from beautiful girlhood to noble womanhood, and how to prepare daughters for marriage. Other highlights include a look at examples of godly, dominion-oriented womanhood from the young pioneer girls of the nineteenth century, as well as the special importance of the thirteenth year in a girl’s life.

We do not have any daughters at this point, but hope to one day, and if the Lord does bless us with daughters, I look forward to sharing this set with them.

I was personally impressed by the session on the Proverbs 31 woman which was given from a man’s point of view. It was very convicting, eye-opening, and an inspiration as I seek to change and grow into a woman like the woman described in the 31st chapter of Proverbs.

So, if you’re looking for something to encourage your daughter in her relationship with her father, this is the set! You’ve got to check it out.

Stay tuned for a review on a great father-daughter resource! It’s in the works…

If you have been following my blog, you may have come to notice that over the past few months my posts have gradually moved away from CVS trips, good deal alerts, and freebies. Yes, my thoughts have been progressing more towards living more simply, self sufficiently, and learning to live more of a homesteading lifestyle. Because of this, I have decided that it makes more sense to start a new chapter in my blogging life and create a new blog more suited to the style of my thoughts.

There are so many good money saving, couponing, freebie sharing websites out there, and I have not found any good sites for people like me who are wanting to learn to homestead, starting from very bare bones basics. Hey, I grew up a California city girl, I have no idea where to even begin when it comes to starting a garden, raising livestock, preserving food and stuff like that. So I feel it will be very beneficial for those wanting to live a simpler life to be able to follow along and learn with me in my new adventures on a homestead!

I will leave Handprints up until my subscription expires. But all of my newest posts can be found on my new site, New Life On A Homestead (.com). We’re still working out some minor kinks on the new blog, but for the most part it’s good to go.

I truly hope that you will come along with me as I continue on this path to freedom! And please feel free to make suggestions or just tell me what you think of it! See ya there.

We finally got a good snow, about 8 inches!! I had given up hope that we would see any snow this winter, but Yippee, we were so excited to wake up to this beautiful scene out our front door this morning:

The kids could not wait to get outside and play! Titus had never been in the snow before, so this was really neat for him. And Jada was outside almost the entire day. She said she didn’t want to waste a minute of the day. She only came in to thaw out and go potty a couple of times, and then was out for more.

He really was enjoying it

We hurried to make a snowman before all of the snow melted away. He ended up pretty dirty looking, but the kids loved him anyways

Titus loved him so much, he couldn’t help giving him hugs and kisses:

And Jada couldn’t resist pelting me with a few snowballs:

I’m so glad they got to enjoy this before Spring arrives! What fun. Thank you Lord for the beautiful snow! (And that we didn’t lose power along with it!)

Notice anything different?? I’m having some major problems with my page layout. Like the genius that I am, I totally messed up the html code in my theme editor, so now my whole page design is LOST! Bummer!! Me beautiful header is gone. So, now I just have to make do with what I can find. Sorry it doesn’t look so cool anymore! At least I have it in some kind of order though… Oh well, guess it could be worse!

Months had gone by since I’d seen my friend Adelia at our last visit together at the Corn Frolic, and I was dying to ask her all kinds of questions about starting my garden. So, I called her up one day and asked her if we could come and visit later in the week; of course she said “Sure!” as usual.

I hadn’t been at her house long when Mrs. Hope came by with her kids to pick up some fresh milk. I guess her goats weren’t producing at the time, so she had to “settle” for cow’s milk. I listened as Mrs. Hope asked Adelia what she owed her for the 2 gallons of milk, and Adelia replied, “Awww, just bring me some bread.” I thought that was really cool. It makes me think that this must have been the way it used to be back in the “good ol’ days”; sharing and trading with your neighbors. How many of us today even know our neighbors?

Hope stayed a while, which was cool ’cause she knows a lot about farm living, and she was able to give me some good advice too. We all sat down in the living room, eight little ones crowded together on the floor watching a video while us Mommies talked. I jumped right into my questions.

I explained that I wanted to start a garden, but I didn’t know where to even begin. All I had was a big yard, ready and waiting. They both told me that really I should have had it “turned over” by now, meaning tilled up and rows ready. I guess it’s good to let it sit exposed to the weather for a few months before you plant in it. Immediately I felt behind on my project. I decided to go home and ask my dear husband that very day if he could borrow his mom’s tiller and get my garden area turned over.

I shared with the ladies how excited I was about ordering my first heirloom seeds off the internet. Hope asked me who I used, and when I told her Heirloom Acres, she knew of them and said that she had ordered from them before. I didn’t realize that she used heirloom seeds too. She told me next time before I order I should ask her and Adelia if they have any of the seeds I want. Wish I’d known that! Well, it was really nice of her to offer. This perked Mrs. Adelia up and she left the room for a minute, only to return with some jars of her own seeds. After showing them to Hope, she filled some bags for her to take home. She offered some to me as well, but I had already ordered the very same seeds. I learned my lesson though; ask around before I buy!

I went on to tell them that I had been reading up on how to take care of all of these plants that I planned on growing in my garden, and that it seemed to me like it could get quite expensive buying all of the recommended types of fertilizers and things. Adelia told me that gardening is like any hobby: you can go all out and spend a fortune on it, or you can do it in a thrifty, yet productive way. They both explained to me that neither of them use fertilizers or synthetic products on their gardens. All they use is manure. Chicken, cow, and rabbit manure. They asked me if I have access to any manure, and I told them that my parents-in-law have chickens. Adelia also said, “Well, there’s a whole pasture behind us full of manure that you are welcome to”. That was so sweet of her! (The inner voice in my city girl head is laughing right now at the thought of my joy over the gift of cow poop…). Really though, it was nice to know that I had some connections.

So I’m going to try gardening their way, the old school, frugal and natural way, and not use any fertilizers or pesticides. I don’t see the point in spending a fortune on a garden when the whole idea of it is to grow my own food to save money! I do want to learn the whole composting thing too. Mrs. Adelia doesn’t compost because she gives all of their food scraps to the pigs. I’m not sure about Hope… I need to ask her.

While we were talking, Adelia remembered that she had planned on showing me how to make butter while I was there. She went over to her kitchen table where she had about 5 quart jars full of the cream off the top of the milk. She handed one to each of us, and to the older kids, and asked us to shake them for a while. So, we all shook our jars as we talked.

I listened intently as Mrs. Hope told me all about her garden, and how to use the manure. She told me not to put manure directly into the hole with the plant, because it heats up and will burn the plant. Instead it is better to work it into the soil long before planting is done. And if, once the plants are in the ground, they begin to look malnourished, it’s good to spread a little manure in a circle around the plant, far enough out that it won’t soak down into the roots and burn them. (She told me all the technical terms and names for the gases emitted in this process and all that, but I couldn’t tell you what all was said. This is just my simple version of what I got out of our conversation.) Good stuff to know.

I expressed my concern that I may be overwhelmed with all that I am planning on planting this year. The ladies gave me some much needed encouragement. They told me not to feel like I have to get all of the harvest picked and canned at once. Hope said, “Even if you only get 10% picked and canned, that’s 10% more than you would have had.” They told me not to feel like I have to do it all at once. When the next season comes, I can try getting a little more done; to work my way into it. They both told me that it’s taken them 10 years to get where they are now. It was nice to hear that.

After about 15 minutes or so of shaking our jars, we started to notice that the cream was changing into a thicker, lumpy consistency. Adelia told me that that was the butter, and if I shook longer it would turn from the pale color it was, to a bright yellow like the butter we are used to seeing. When the jars were finished, she took them into the kitchen and poured the buttermilk out of the jars, leaving only the butter. As she was doing this she asked us, “Do either of you want some buttermilk?” I envisioned trying to drink a glass of fresh buttermilk and was immediately disgusted. “No, thanks,” I said politely. Hope declined as well. But a few minutes later Hope changed her mind, saying, “You know, I believe I will take some of that buttermilk.” I watched as Adelia poured the last bit of buttermilk into a quart jar and handed it to Hope saying, “I’m glad you spoke up when you did, I was just about to pour it out.” It was then that I realized that the buttermilk was not being offered as a drink, but to take home and cook with! Duh!! I kicked myself. I totally could have used that to make waffles or biscuits or something with! Oh well. I tried to hide my embarrassment.

I gotta start thinking more like a country girl if I’m gonna try to live like one!

Anyways, Adelia went on to show me how she makes the butter. She dumped the unfinished butter onto a cheese cloth and put it into a bowl of water. She squished it around, and worked the water through it, until the water came through clear. She said it will spoil if you don’t get all of the buttermilk out of the butter. Then she pressed the finished product into a small, empty yogurt container, and placed it in her freezer. There she stores it until it is needed. Pretty cool!

I totally lost track of time, and about 4 hours into our visit I realized I’d better head home for lunch. Little Titus had been busying himself in the kitchen playing with a big barrel of pecans. Adelia had him fill a grocery bag FULL of the nuts to send home with us. The older kids had migrated outside, and were running amok. I stepped out the front door to find Jada and Hope’s little boy, terrorizing the chickens, chasing them with long sticks and laughing together as they ran. (I don’t think she would really hit one with it, they were just enjoying the thrill of the chase.) I rounded up my reluctant little tyrant, and we said our goodbyes.

What a nice visit! I went home with a mission: to get my garden turned over, and to start collecting some manure! I’m so glad to have some help along the way!

I appreciate Crystal encouraging us to share our goals for this year, and I have many, so I thought I’d share them as well. This year, I feel, is going to be particularly tough. I have been feeling the need to really start preparing for the worst; here are some of my goals with that in mind for this year:

• Settling debt: When we were forced to close our business this past August, we were left with a ton of debt as a result. Without the business’ income to help pay the loans, we were suddenly unable to pay the high rates, and were falling behind fast. Our debt payments were over $400/mo. WAY too much for us! I tried all I could to work with the banks to negotiate a better rate or a payoff amount, but they were unmoving. Our interest rate was 18%! OUCH!! So, we decided to pay off the debt with a home equity line with an interest rate of 2%! So now, instead of our payments being $408/mo, we are paying $40/mo. Much, much better! So now, the only debt we have is on our home. Though a little more now, much more manageable.

• Start my very first garden. You can read all that I’ve accomplished so far here!

• Publish a Christian Children’s Book that I’ve been working on for almost 2 years! I’ve actually had it ready and waiting. I just need to find a good illustrator now…

• Reducing our power bill. Currently it’s over $200/mo! I’m sure there are things that we can do to knock that down. I know it’s winter and all, but that’s crazy! My goal is to get it under $100/mo.

• Get some farm animals. If you’ve been following me, you know that I’m fascinated with homesteading and living self sufficiently (if you’re interested in this kind of stuff, you need to be reading my series: The True Queen of Frugal: Lessons from Butterberry Farm). One of my goals is to begin acquiring some useful animals around the house. I’d like rabbits, chickens, maybe goats, a milk cow, and maybe a pig… maybe. I’m hoping to have at least one of these by the end of the year.

• Plant fruit trees.

• Make my own cloth baby wipes, and perhaps try the Family Cloth idea.

• Make my home safer: adding fire extinguishers, a driveway alarm, teaching my kids fire safety, preparing an emergency kit, etc.

• Stocking an Emergency Pantry with six months to a year’s worth of canned goods, flour, sugar, etc. Including learning to can, dry, and freeze my garden’s produce for storage.

• Learning to sew. Something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.

• Fix up our single wide and get it rented out. This would help bring in some much needed extra income.

• Investing for my kids. If you missed it, read more about how I’ve started investing HERE.

• Sell unnecessary items. We have lots of yard sale things boxed up and ready to go, but also lots of inventory and such leftover from the business. I am hoping to liquidate everything in order to put away some money in an emergency fund.

• Make a will. I’ve been really needing to do this for years. I really need to make a will, for the children’s sake.

Well, that’s all I can think of right now. I’m sure that I’ll think of more to add later. It will be good for me to have this all written down, so that I can come back to it throughout the year to remind myself of things I may have missed. I am really hoping to accomplish all of these things and more. Prayerfully, diligently, and maybe even a little naively at times. But I am determined to do my best!

When the stock market started going downhill this past Fall, I began to really contemplate the market. I have been saying for years that I’d like to invest money for my children, but I never got around to it. It always seemed like such a complicated, and expensive task. But once I saw stocks plunging, I began to really look into taking advantage of the low priced market. I remember Dave Ramsey saying that when stocks go down, think of them as being “on sale”. Well, there was a major sale going on, and I wanted to get in on it!

I was a little hesitant, and not sure how long the market would stay low. But after it seemed to only be getting worse, I decided I’d better jump in while I could. In October I started looking into buying stock, completely naive about anything to do with investing. My grandfather, an expert (in my opinion) in investing wisely, suggested that I try using Scottrade as my broker.

I pulled all of the kid’s savings out, a modest accrual, and brought their money to my local Scottrade office. First of all, I didn’t know that they wouldn’t take cash. I had to go to the gas station next door, and get money orders. Next, I didn’t realize that I wouldn’t be able to invest that same day. I had to wait a few days for the money to actually post in their accounts before I could start playing with it. So, that was a little disappointing. I was afraid that the market would suddenly skyrocket overnight and I would lose my chance. It didn’t. I finished the process, and opened the accounts in each child’s name. No fees, no cost. Then I went home and watched the market like a hawk, and studied which stocks I thought I’d like to buy.

Now, I am by no means an expert. I am brand new at this. BUT, I’ve listened closely to many experts, and paid attention to what they are saying. NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY… as long as you will not need this money within the next 5 years. If you have a little money stashed away for your kids, seriously consider investing it. Everything is at bottom prices right now, and eventually they WILL go back up. Since I don’t plan on giving my kids their savings until they are atleast 18, I know I have time to safely invest their money, and I don’t have to worry about if they lose some in the short term.

I wish I could tell you which stocks you should buy. I wish I knew. But I will tell you how I picked mine.

• First, think of a product that you use often; something that you need (ie: electricity, gas, food…). I think it’s wise to invest in things that people cannot do without.
• Next, find the stock symbol for the company, and then look up their 5 year record. If their stocks have increasingly gone up (until this past year), then it’s probably a good one to invest in.
• Pay attention to what the media is saying. If you are hearing that a company is close to bankruptcy, or is closing, common sense tells you not to invest in it.
• Diversify: Don’t spend all of your money on one company. You need to spread it out between several, just in case one of them goes very badly, that way you won’t lose everything on that one. But keep in mind that there is a fee every time you buy/trade, so take that into consideration and don’t waste a lot of your savings on trading fees. Be sure how many shares you want to buy before you actually make your purchase.

Scottrade is cool because their fees aren’t crazy. I was afraid that brokerage fees would be outrageous, and that it wouldn’t be worth it to me with such little money to invest. What I like about them is that if you do all of your trading yourself online, you only have to pay a one time fee of $7 for every trade (no matter how many shares of that one company you buy). And that’s all I’ll ever have to pay them. Plus, they will give you free help and advice over the phone if you need it.

Trading online really isn’t as daunting of a task as it may seem either. If you are comfortable navigating the internet, you can do this. The hardest part in investing in making up your mind which stocks you want to purchase. After that it’s just a click of a button and it’s yours. It’s really that simple. You just have to research, research, research, and do the best you can to make a good decision.

I’m sure there are other stock brokerages out there that are great too. All I can tell you about is what I am familiar with, and have tried. But if you have a little stash of money in your kids savings account or piggy bank, maybe you ought to consider putting it somewhere where it just might grow to a substantial amount by the time they are ready for it.

So, tell me, have you invested yet? Got any advice to share? I’d love to hear your thoughts!!

Okay, to continue my story, if you missed the first part, make sure to read it first!

Oh yes, we were all sitting around outside the Summer Kitchen, peeling potatoes and talking:

My sister and I were picking the other women’s brains about everything we could imagine, from gardening to raising children.

Hope shared with us a little more about the corn frolic. Not only were they going to be picking the corn, but they were also going to be grinding it to make cornmeal. She showed me three different types of corn grinders that they would be using, all from different eras. Two were hand crank type grinders, and one was a huge, tractor operated grinder. She told us that the tractor grinder was actually really rare. The cornmeal is mostly used to make corn bread.

As Mrs. Hope was telling us about her corn, she also explained to us that there are two kinds of plants: “open-pollinated” and “hybrid”, the first of which is what she and Mrs. Adelia use in their gardens. I’ll explain the difference:

“Open-pollinated” means that the plants cross naturally; it’s pollen is carried by the wind, bees, and other natural ways. When the seeds of these plants are saved and replanted, the next generation will look just like the first. These plants may not produce fruits that are perfect in shape or color, but the taste is true, and far superior to any other. The seeds can be passed down for generations.

“Hybrid” plants are artificially pollinated. They are genetically modified to produce certain characteristics such as uniform shape and size, and increased productivity. In the quest for the seemingly perfect cross of plants, much of the flavor is sacrificed in the process. The seeds from these plants are sterile, or will grow a plant which produces no fruit, so you cannot keep the seeds; you’ll have to keep buying more.

The seeds that you buy in pretty little packages at the store are hybrids.

Heirloom seeds are open-pollinated, and have been passed down for a hundred or more years, from generation to generation. They produce the most flavorful, and beautifully unique fruits. Since they originated before the advent of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, they respond better to more organic farming methods, such as compost and manure. These are the kinds of seeds that Mrs. Hope uses in her garden, and I have ordered for my own. You can buy them from catalogs or online, or you may be lucky enough to find a distributor in your area.

I ordered my seeds from Heirloom Acres. I haven’t received them yet, so I don’t know how good they are, but Mrs. Hope told me that she has ordered from them before, and was happy with their products.

I had no idea about any of this. I’ve tried saving seeds from produce that I had bought at the store, thinking that I could just plant them in my garden, whenever I started one. I had no idea that had I planted those seeds, it would have all been for nothing!

We also learned about having a milking cow. See, I thought that a milking cow always gave milk, that’s just what she’s for. Well, it’s a little more involved than that. To get a female to be a milk cow, you have to breed her. The cow needs to have recently had a calf, or been continuously nursed (or milked) to keep producing milk. The animal is “fresh” when she is able to be milked. But gradually, she will dry up, and you will need to breed her again. (I need to find out just how long you can milk a cow before she dries up.) Adelia told me that a cow is like a nursing mother- supply and demand. The more you milk her, the more she’ll produce. So, she will be able to nurse the calf, and still provide enough milk for your family as well. You just have to make sure that the calf gets the colostrum (the first milk), or it won’t survive.

While we were sitting, talking, a few more people arrived. I got to meet another young couple about my age, who also had a small child. They, too, are on their way to self-sufficient living; far further along than I am though. They moved here from out of state, with Bachelor’s Degrees in Organic Farming. They also Bee Keep.They were very nice people. I’d actually love to get to know them better too! I’m sure I could really learn a lot from them.

Our conversation soon went towards the upcoming Winter, and our thoughts on how bad or mild it might be. Adelia told us of an old Folklore: if you crack open a Persimmons seed, the shape of the inside will tell you what the winter’s weather will be. If it’s shaped like a spoon, it’s like you’ll be shoveling snow, and it will be a heavy winter. If it’s shaped like a fork, the snow will be very light, like a dusting. And if it’s shaped like a knife, it will just be cutting cold. I guess it’s really hard to crack one open though! I thought this was pretty interesting, and it got me wondering about other ways of watching nature to predict the weather (that will be a whole other post!)

When we finished preparing the food, Hope had her daughter round up two large goats, and hook them up to a little carriage that they had fashioned for the children to ride in. Each child got to take a ride in the little two seater, as the goats carried them down the gravel driveway and back. Hope’s daughter walked alongside the goats, keeping them on course. I rode along with little Titus, holding him tightly as I was pretty unsure of the safety of the whole contraption! Jada had a great time riding along with another little girl. I’d say that whole thing probably wasn’t the safest idea, but I just kept my fingers crossed and the kids really enjoyed it!

All too quickly my sister and I had to be on our way. We were supposed to be home, cooking dinner for our hard working husbands. Mrs. Hope and Adelia were disappointed that we didn’t get to stay and actually watch the whole “frolic”. We rounded up our filthy, happy children and said our goodbye’s. Just before we left, Hope brought me a huge bundle of dried, colorful corn tied to a long string. She said she gives one to everyone who helps at the frolic. She told me that I could grind it to make cornmeal, or I could pop the kernels off and plant them for my own corn next season. Cool!

Me and “sis” talked all the way home about all that we had learned. We wanted so badly to be able to stay longer. Hopefully next year I’ll be invited again, and will be able to stay the whole time. I truly value the time spent that day, and all of the neat things learned. It’s so neat to be in the midst of people who have so much for you to learn from. I feel very blessed to have come into acquaintance with such neat people, and such different lifestyles.

This past October, Mrs. Hope (a friend of Adelia’s), who after hearing that I am interested in living more self-sufficiently, kindly invited me to her annual Corn Frolic. Not knowing what in the world to expect, I was very excited about the event. Mrs. Hope is a lot like Adelia, in that she is striving to be totally self sufficient, and is living very frugally off of her own farm, so I was anxious to be in her company as well as Mrs. Adelia’s. My sister was in town, so I brought her along with me, as she has been wanting to meet Mrs. Adelia for a while now. We loaded our three little ones into my van, and met at Adelia’s house to follow her down the winding country roads to Miracle Farms, Mrs. Hopes place.

Hope is a goat woman. She loves her goats, and boasts of the superiority (in her opinion) of their milk to any other. She also gardens, and has quite a bit of acreage of corn fields. Every fall she hosts a “Corn Frolic” in which she invites friends and neighbors to come for food and fellowship, along with lots of corn picking, shucking and grinding. It’s a fun social event, but it’s also a real help to Hope’s family as they have a lot of corn to manage.

There is even fun for the kids. As Hope plants her corn earlier in the year, she incorporates Red Corn into her crop. Then during harvest time, at the Corn Frolic, she makes a game out of finding the hidden Red Corn in the fields. The kids enjoy hunting for this special corn, and earn a dollar for every red ear they can gather.

As we arrived, we parked our cars in the grassy yard, and unloaded all of the kids. I helped carry some tables from Adelia’s van to set up for the supper later on. Hope was planning a Chicken Stew for the event. The first time I was ever invited to a Chicken Stew I had no idea what it was. I knew what chicken stew was, but not A Chicken Stew. For those of you like me, let me explain: in Fall it is popular in this area to host a Chicken Stew, where you cook a ton of the stew in a large pot, usually all day long outside, until the chicken is falling off the bone. I’ve heard that sometimes they add rabbit or squirrel to the stew as well, though I never ask! Usually tons and tons of people come. Many bring deserts, and all share in the delicious, piping hot meal. It’s always really good, especially on a chilly Fall night!

We had arrived at Hope’s a little early, so we helped with the dinner preparations. The kids all ran off to play in a sandy hole in the ground, while us ladies went to work. Looking around me I noticed three buildings, so I asked Hope what they were. She explained that the large old barn to our left had been on their neighbor’s land, and he had wanted it moved. So Hope and her husband painstakingly moved it onto their land themselves (as it would have cost them thousands of dollars to have it moved professionally) and are in the process of remodeling it into their home. There was a very small log home to the right, which had been Hope’s parent’s first home. They had also moved it onto their land with the intention of living in it while the other home was being worked on, but they ended up getting sick from lead paint inside, and were unable to stay there. And lastly, there was a small cinder block building in between the other two that Hope calls her “Summer Kitchen”. Her and her husband had gathered the blocks from a building that was being torn down. They washed them up, and built the little one room kitchen, which is now a great place to do the canning in the summer time to keep the heat out of the house.

We all pulled up a chair underneath a small covered place in front of the Summer Kitchen, and started peeling potatoes and shredding chicken. I was given a huge bowl of potatoes, and a knife. I’m so used to a potato peeler, it took a little getting used to using only a knife to peel. They didn’t seem to mind that our hands hadn’t been washed, or that the potatoes were probably getting dirty from the blowing winds. I guess they figured they’d be washed before they were cooked.

It was so incredibly peaceful sitting around with these other women on a beautifully warm afternoon, peeling potatoes and talking about gardening and livestock. My sister and I asked a ton of questions, some of which they smiled at, no doubt humored by our naiveté. Yet they were kind enough to share all of their gathered wisdom with the two newcomers. Every now and then one of the kids came toddling over needing something, but it was so funny just watching them, especially the littlest ones, off on their own, playing and not caring where Mommy was or what she was doing. What a wonderful life this is.

We learned lots of new things during our visit, about milking cows, growing corn, predicting the weather, and more, but I believe this post is long enough for now. So, this one will be continued… Hope you’re able to come back for more!