Thursday, August 27, 2009

Tomatoes

I am drowning in tomatoes. I am not complaining, really, but oh my, it is getting crazy. I have some pics that I want to upload, but our internet is running really slow for some reason and after literally 1 hour, my 5 pics were still not uploaded. So, you get just a boring old writing post. Don't worry, you aren't missing much, just a sea of red all over my counters.

Tomatoes really have turned out beautifully this year. No real bug problems or anything. My biggest issue has been having them break as they go. I have gone out there a number of times just to re-stake them. Next year will be different, I am going to try a new system. Anyways, so I have canned lots of tomato juice, some diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce and ketchup. I still want to make Ryan's grandma's tomato soup (it is delicious) and do another batch or two of spaghetti sauce. The rest of the tomatoes will go to juice and being diced.

Finally, I am done with cucumbers. Praise the Lord. Our Zucchini/Squash is about done also. I think something weird happened with our Zucchini this year. It got unusually big and not so tasty. I think it might have cross pollenated with something else out there. We also got some crazy gourd like thing that is still growing as we speak. It kind of looks like a massive acorn squash (which I did plant) that has been stretched. I cut a couple open and fed them to the chickens, they loved them.

Our green beans have surprised me a little. We had about two "full" pickings off of them and they are still giving me enough to can a quart here and there. Our peas did fine, but I didn't plant very many and they are kind of a pain in the tushy, so I am not sure we will plant them again.

My peppers are still doing beautifully. I have had prettier peppers this year than I have ever had. I only planted banana peppers and 3 different varieties of bell peppers and they are all just getting so big and plump. I really think that the pruning I have been doing on them earlier this summer is paying off.

My watermelons and cantaloupe did terrible and I am not sure I will try those again either, which is a shame because we love both of those. If I do try them again I will put them in a spot all their own instead of making them share space with all the squash and gourds. We have a bunch of orange sized watermelons and cantaloupes that are already ripe.

I am finding an unexpected joy in my gourd-ish stuff this year. I planed acorn squash, butternut squash and sweet early pumpkins. I have already harvested some pumpkins and canned them and I am hooked. I eat lots of pumpkin (I love it) so it is very cool, and extremely yummy to be eating my fresh pumpkin. I plan to can all of the pumpkin, butternut squash and acorn squash that I am able to. Some we will just eat and the rest I am going to turn in to baby food for little bean. I think I can probably can my sweet potatoes, when they are ready, the same way.

Have you have enough garden talk yet? Ok, on to something different, Little Bean.......

So we are in a whole different type of waiting now for the little guy. We are waiting on his second medicals and then our info can be submitted to court. I am anxious to decide on his name, but my lovely husband isn't quite so ready. I think it is a typical guy thing, waiting until you "have" to have a name. That is tough in this situation though because he doesn't technically "have" to have a first name until he is back to the states and gets re-adopted (which we just did this past March for Anna and Gee). I just think a name helps everyone to connect with him and it keeps the crazy names at bay. FYI, Anna calls him that "little black baby."

I am just so ready to be getting ready for this little guy because I have lots I want/need to do to prepare. I just can't do that stuff right now because other things, like the garden, getting ready for school and outside projects are consuming my time.

Well, that's all for now. We are off again on another camping trip. Yeah! We are heading to Columbus with my sister and her soon to be expanding family. :) As usual, I have lots left to do still and we are leaving tonight.

Julie

Friday, August 21, 2009

It's Official...

Well, we officially accepted little Mussie's referral today. I am just so thrilled. We all are. I can just hardly believe that this precious little baby is going to, Lord willing, be ours. I feel the need to add here that while we are thrilled to be pursuing Mussie as our son, our case worker has cautioned us that we can release Mussie's referral at any point from now until we go to court. We have no intentions of doing that, but if something very serious were to come up (ie a family member showing up or a medical issue we are unable to deal with) we could lose Mussie. Like I said, that is VERY unlikely to happen, but with our past adoption history, I am never going to say that something "won't happen" ever again. I try not to focus on losing our little guy because it is very unlikely to happen, but for everyone's sake, I think it is a good idea to mention the possibility.

I am starting to focus more now on how life will be when Mussie (that is what we will call him for now) gets home and I am getting excited to start preparing for him! I am just so very happy and feel so blessed!

Julie

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

IT IS A BOY!!!!!! YEEHAW!!!

I am seriously choking back the tears as I post this, but we saw our baby boy for the first time today.

The 3 little ones were eating lunch and I was getting ready to pick up Leah from a friends house when the phone rang. I have been jumping a bit when the phone rings lately wondering if this was "the call." A quick look at the caller ID usually quickly clears up my suspense. This time the call came up as "unknown." My first thought was "telemarketer." Nope, it was my case manager. We small talked for a minute and then she said "Do you want a boxer?" I said "huh?" and she said it again, "do you want a boxer?" I finally just said "what are you talking about." To which my case manager replies "well he has his hands up like a boxer in his pictures." I immediately responded "Are you serious?!?" She was serious.

I got the basic info. He is approximately 5 months old (we don't know his exact birthdate at this point) and he is in Awassa, Ethiopia (here's where that's at http://uk.geocities.com/sp228/pictures/ethiopia_map.jpg). He seems to be very healthy and has tested negative for everything according to his first medical report. His name right now is Mussie.

I can't post pictures but he really is beautiful. He has very distinct facial features and the most beautiful little mouth. He is as bald as can be and I could just eat him up!

Now we have to officially accept the referral (which as this point we plan to) and then our agency will request a second medical report to be done. After that is completed and the results are compiled (which can takes weeks) everything is sent to the courts in Ethiopia (this includes our dossier) and a court date is set. We are probably looking at a court date in October some time. Hopefully shortly after the courts re-open. If we pass court, Mussie is legally our child. If we do not pass court the first time(which is usually due to some minor paperwork issue), a new court date will be issued, usually 2 to 4 weeks later. Once we pass court we wait for our Embassy date which can take 3 to 8 weeks to get. We actually travel for our embassy date and that is when we pick up "little bean."

Well, we have a lot to process, but we are extremely excited!!!! Please keep us all in your prayers. I just pray that "little bean" stays healthy and our process is smooth and quick!

Julie

Eggs...questions and answers

Ok, now that we have eggs I'd like to take a minute to "enlighten" everyone on what I know about home grown eggs. Let me warn you, what I know is limited, but I had some concerns, so maybe you all do also. Here are some basic question and answers for anyone who cares.

1. Am I going to crack an egg for breakfast and get a half grown chicken (trust me, this concerned me)? First off, to get a half grown chicken we have to have fertilized eggs. We have 2 standard roosters for 20 standard chickens. That about maxes out the 10:1 hens to rooster ratio. The most important thing though is collecting the eggs often. We are collecting right now about 3 to 4 times a day, but I am sure that will dwindle to once in the morning and once in the evening after the newness wears off. An embryo will not have the chance to even start developing once collected and refrigerated. Just FYI, a broody hen (one that will actually sit on and incubate eggs) would have to sit on an egg for almost a week before an embryo could even be seen. We are not even sure we will ever have a broody hen.

2. Are fertilized eggs/brown eggs better for you? Brown eggs are no difference nutritionally than white eggs, it is really just a personal preference. It is debatable whether or not fertilized eggs are better nutritionally. Some say they have less cholesterol, but this is not 100% proven from what I can see/ had read. It is proven however that free range eggs are healthier and our bird are partially free range (we are hoping to move them to almost all free range except at night). Here are the benefits of free range eggs:

  1. For starters they are often fresher, as with most foods the fresher the foods the healthier they will be. It is often possible to buy free range eggs directly from the farmer, from a farmers market, or in my case, I just take them from my hens every morning. Please note, my hens do not have roosters with them, so it is not like I am stealing their babies, they are of a breed that does not pay attention to their eggs after laying them.
  2. Free range eggs have been found to be lower in cholesterol, by as much as 30%.
  3. Free range eggs contain 2 times more Vitamin A and E.
  4. Free range eggs are alkaline. Battery hen eggs are acidic. Studies have shown that diets higher in alkaline foods are likely to prevent cancer.
  5. Free range eggs have twice as much Omega-3 Fatty Acid. This is very likely due to the hens having a more varied diet.
  6. Free range eggs have ¼ of saturated fat than do battery hen eggs.
  7. Free range eggs have 5 times more Beta Carotene.

3. Can you tell and egg is fertilized? Will it taste different? Yes, you can tell if an egg has been fertilized. Here's a pic (and tons of good info on fertilized eggs): http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008&p=1
And no, you cannot taste the difference.

3. Are our eggs organic? Nope, not really. To be considered "organic" birds have to fed organic feed, which we do not do. They do get plenty of treats, like melons and left over goodies from the house and they free range some which adds all the yummy "organic" materials from the yard.

4. What are the advantages of home grown eggs? Well, I think for us it is simply knowing where our food is coming from and knowing it is as fresh as it can be. There are certainly health benefits (as mentioned above) and having eggs on hand whenever we want them is great. It is also a great family project. We are all enjoying the chickens/eggs and the kids are really being responsible with them and having fun. I wish we could grow all our own stuff ("Little House" here I come).

5. How long will the eggs stay fresh? Let me let WikiAnswers cover this question:

Farmers have 30 days from the day an egg is laid to get it to stores. Then, the stores have another 30 days to sell the eggs. The FDA recomends a maximum of 5 weeks in your refrigerator before you discard your eggs. What does this all boil down to? On April 1st, you could be eating an egg for breakfast laid on Christmas. *Someone who talked with an egg farmer was told from the day it was laid, the egg has 30 days. I assume that means until the sale date, but that was not made clear. *Even if that is true, keep in mind that farmers generally get their eggs to stores within a week, and both the "pack date" and "sell by" date are stamped onto the carton. The numbers run from 1-365 depending on the day of the year. Lastly, there is a big difference in taste between farm fresh eggs and one week old eggs. If you want the freshest eggs, you can buy from a local farmer.

A great way to check if any egg is fresh is to stick it in bowl of water. If it floats it is bad, if it sinks, it is good.

6. Do we wash our eggs? Not until right before we eat them. We are trying our best to keep the nesting boxes clean, which will in turn keep the eggs cleaner, but washing the eggs right after collecting them strips the natural "bloom" off the egg. This "bloom" is a protective coating that every newly laid egg has. It keeps bacteria out and the egg fresher longer. The FDA requires store bought eggs to be washed, but often times they add mineral oil for a "faux" protective coating.

So, please feel free to ask if you have any more eggie questions. We will be selling our eggs once we start getting a regular amount and they are more normally sized. We have 20 standard hens right now and I would guess that only 7 or 8 are actually laying and they are still small. Once we are at full laying capacity we will get 15 to 20 eggs a day. That is 8 to 11 plus dozen a week. We will probably eat 3 plus dozen a week, we will have extra. I would be happy to set aside eggs for anyone who specifically knows if they want some (like Mindy :)), but for every one else, once the eggs are really up and going, they will be in our fridge. We are asking a $1 for a dozen. That will help with feed for them and maybe offset our costs a bit.

So, do you feel like you have been egg-lightened? I hope so. :)

Julie

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Home again and we have EGGS!!!

Ok, so maybe it is a little silly to be so excited about these sweet little eggies, but I am! We came home yesterday to cute little brown eggs. Quite a few of them really. Olivia (our best buddy and home caregiver while we are gone) had collected about a dozen and a half and there were 4 or 5 more actually in the coop when we got home. They are small now, but they will get bigger/more normal sized after a while. None of the easter eggers are laying yet because their eggs would be blue and green. Anyways, here they are, our first eggs.......


Our vacation was extremely fun. The more time I spend in Gatlinburg the more I love it. I love the outdoors, especially the mountains and Gatlinburg just seems to have it all. We arrived home last night and left again almost immediately for a wedding. I have yet to unpack suitcases. Today has been spent mowing, working in our garden and picking sweet corn. Oh man, I have so much to put up. Truly I feel blessed to have so much good food to put away for the winter, but it is a lot of work!

Here are some vacation pics.

Anna, Kayla (my niece) and Madeline at the BEST pancake house ever in downtown Gatlinburg.


We celebrated Gideon and Katelyn's (my other niece) birthdays while we were in Gatlinburg. They are two days apart. Here they are with their cool backpacks mawmaw and pawpaw got them.


Gee got a horsie from Aunt Esther and Uncle Scott. Aunt Esther even demonstrated it for us!


Gee loved his Spidy man backpack from Aunt Jami and Uncle Jason.


Blowing out the candles on their brownie ice cream cakes.


Riding the pony (i.e. killing time while mommy shops) in downtown Gatlinburg.


Riding the bee ride in Dollywood.


While the big kids were riding a roller coaster at Dollywood we decided to play that claw game that "nobody ever wins." You know the one where the metal claw "almost" grabs the toy/candy/whatever. I never let the kids waste their money on that thing but we were bored and the little ones wanted to give it a try. Wouldn't you know it, on the first try we won Chloe. Go figure.


We all got soaked on the water ride.


One of the hikes we went on lead back to this great swimming hole. The water was chilly, but it was lots of fun!


This look from Anna cracks me up. She is getting ready to give me the "I am sad" Anna look, to which I almost always reply "Anna, cut it out." (Anna is a major drama queen and I am trying to reel in her "moods").


Pawpaw jumping off the big rock! All the older kids and most of the adults jumped off and had tons of fun. I was super impressed though with Madeline though. She actually jumped off that sucker with Ryan! No pic though because that was a video moment.




Obviously I have no new news on the adoption. We are still #1 and our agency is still be promised every day that the new referrals will come in. They know there's a chunk of referrals just waiting still, but they can't make the referrals get there any faster.

Julie


Thursday, August 6, 2009

Gee's Birthday pics and no news....

As the title states, no referral yet. AG-A-NIZ-ING.

But, on to happier things, here's some pics we took this last weekend:

Aunt Chrissy and Gee after he got his Spidy man backpack and blanket!


Gideon playing at a really cool park in Matewan on his birthday.


Anna enjoying the bumble bee (and her ring pop).


We also celebrated this past weekend my cousin's birthday. This is her daughter (and my personal bud) showing how she felt about the cake decorating. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY again Gaynell, thanks for sharing your house and yard!)


Gee being goofy.


Gee's spidy cake.


Gee showing me how old he is!


Singing "Happy Birthday." And no, Leah did not burn the place down with that lighter.


Gee in his Diego jammies (from Aunt Chrissy) opening his cool trucks from DeeDee and PatPat(Grandma and Grandpa).


The big kids at this breath taking mountain we drove up to.




We are leaving in the morning for a week. I am still hoping for that referral and I should be able to post while on vacation. I cannot wait to chill-lax for a week. That will be so wonderful!

Julie


Monday, August 3, 2009

Still waiting for a referral and back home.

We are still waiting to see our little guy's face. I confirmed with our case manager last Friday that we are indeed next. Yeah! I thought we were, but I was starting to think that maybe I was wrong. Our agency is expecting another set of referrals early this week, so maybe our son is in that group. I hope so.

We arrived home from our long weekend about 2 hours ago. It was really a great trip. We really enjoyed being with the family and the kids had a blast and swam all day long. Our camper had some issues, we think due to a non grounded electrical outlet at my aunts house that we were staying at. If you touched our metal steps or the door handle without shoes, you got zapped. It was crazy. We all got shocked numerous times, including the little kids and the dog. The kids would not get into the camper by themselves, even if the camper was unplugged and once the dog got zapped she wouldn't come within 20 feet of the camper steps. I know it isn't really funny, but I couldn't help but laugh, ummm, numerous times.

We celebrated Gee's birthday with my family while we were there. He loved his Spidy-man cake and decorations. He also loved all the goodies he got. Everyone was really generous and it was just a nice day of celebrating and being together. I will upload some pictures soon.

Another great thing about our weekend was that we got an e-mail from Gideon's foster family. They were remembering his birthday right along with us. They even sent us some pictures. They are just incredibly sweet people and I can't wait to go back to Guatemala to see them again. I want them to see how wonderful Gee is. They will be so proud of him!

A very sad part of our weekend was that we found out that a very good friend of the family passed away. Her passing was not unexpected, but she was way too young to be leaving this earth. Praise God though that she is now with our Heavenly father in paradise. Please be praying for this sweet family. We will be attending the visitation and funeral this week.

We leave Friday for a week in Gatlinburg. It seems that our vacations come in clumps. I really love going to Gatlinburg because I love the mountains and hitting the trails. This will be another busy few days for us though. I have to unpack from camping and getting everything ready to go again. Plus I have a good deal of canning to do. Busy, busy, but I will get it all done (I hope). I feel like I just need to get organized, which I am no where close to being.

Well, hopefully my next post will be announcing our referral. Maybe??? Hopefully.......

Julie

Psalms 10:14, 17-18

"You are the helper of the fatherless.  LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more."