Homesteading: A Woman's Journey

Micah has arrived!

Greetings to all!  I apologise for the long delay in posting.  We have been without a computer for quite awhile, so I was unable to blog or write email.

Our precious son, Micah, was born on April 4th.  It was such a blessing as the doctor who delivered him was the one on call that day.  I ended up having an emergency c-section due to Micah's cord colapsing after the water broke.  He was 7 lbs. 8 oz. and 22 inches long.  At his most recent check-up 2 days ago, he now weighs in at 11 lbs. 8 oz. and is 22.5 inches long.

Abigail, age 2 yrs., just loves being the big sister.  She is so nurturing towards him.  She strokes his hair and talks to him often.  We let Micah lay in Abigail's lap sometimes so that she can hold him.  She is always very gentle.  One afternoon when Joe put Micah in her lap, Abigail had one of her little books and "read" to him.

We are getting settled into a new routine now.  Joe is now working a local job that keeps him home every night.  What a precious blessing that is!!!  He was missing out on so much when he was truck driving and gone for a month at a time.  Micah is sleeping about 5-6 hours at a time during the night so we are no longer looking like the chronically fatigued anymore. 

We are getting our garden planted.  Joe has been doing the hard part of preparing the soil for me so that I can go out and do the planting.  The seeds I planted earlier have drowned in the spring rains for the 2nd year in a row.  The only plant that survived the rains was a single pumpkin plant.  This time, we are running the rows so that they will drain downhill to keep the water from standing too long.  To keep the plants/seeds from getting too much water in the storms, we are following an idea my father-in-law gave us to raise the planting area.  It is an idea that he saw on Martha Stewart's tv show.  You pile soil in rows so that the planting area is about a foot higher than the path in between them.  This will prevent the plants from getting too much water and will allow the excess water to drain easier. If this method works as good as we believe it will, our garden should be able to produce very well.  To cut down on the amount of weeding that will need done, you can put weed barrier plastic or  some other material or mulch over the raised rows.  In the paths, you can put old newspapers covered with mulch or any other material that would prevent plant grown in the paths.

I was asked recently to teach a series of cooking classes for a local community action center.  The classes are all based on the theme of getting back to the basics.  It seems that cooking from scratch and knowing how to feed your family on a limited budget is becoming a "lost art" in many families.  My first class will be in June.  The center wants me to teach the basics of menu planing & how to stock your pantry frugally.   Many of the students have never been taught how to cook without using the store-bought canned, boxed or frozen foods in their meals.  Some of what I will be teaching through the series of classes is bread baking, homemade pasta, making your own cereals and "convenience" foods, and home canning/food preservation.  I am both nervous and excited about teaching the classes.   I have never felt comfortable in from of a group, so that part will be abit hard.  I do enjoy showing others how to do these things though and am hoping that it will somehow bless their families by saving them money and eating healthier.

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07:52, Saturday, May 24, 2008 .. Posted by GypsyFarmGirl

Congrats on the birth, and yippie on teaching the class. I am sure you will spark someone to truly want a more simple and basic lifestyle amongst all this hussle and bussle of fast food and convience.

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12:35, Sunday, May 25, 2008 .. Posted by Sara

So good to see you again! And what wonderful news about your newest blessing. How neat that you are going to be able to teach others so many things that we all really need to know. I hope to see you around more. Talk to you later.

Blessings, sara