Corn 'n' Apple Harvest

We are grateful to have gotten some of Manitoba's excellent corn. Yesterday, Ken's folks brought us 30 dozen cobs - and these are no small cobs!

Today we started at 8:30 AM shucking that corn - by noon it was all in the freezer and the evidence cleaned up.



Everyone could help ...



Two cutters made the job happen quickly:



Thanks guys - you're all great team players!



Then in the afternoon, we cooked up the apples that Ken was blessed with from an older man in Holland whom he had met when he took a load of garbage to the local dump.

Applesauce for the freezer and a pan of applecrisp - Yum!


Our guys really enjoy applesauce & cinnamon on their porridge and applecrisp is a favorite treat too.

Wildlife in MB

A huge anthill:

Painting & Unpacking

The last week has finally been cool enough to consider painting so that's what we've been busy with - well, Ken & the three oldest have been while I've been keeping myself and the littles out from under foot & making meals for the hungry crew.

Even just the color change is making this feel more like "our" home. Interesting how that can have such a profound effect. It has been a bit of a challenge to move from a new house that we built to an older house that has had numerous previous owners, but we do love the location, the trees and many features of the house etc.

We'll post "after" pictures once we're settled & boxes on main floor are unpacked into their proper spots.

It's A New Life

Sorry for not posting much lately. It's been busy ... and a myriad of other excuses - all valid, of course - I'm sure you understand, but I'll try to be more faithful in keeping you posted and updated on the happenings in our new life here in MB.

To begin with though, for those of you who have not yet heard, we are excited to not only be living a "new life" here in MB, but we are also pleased to be expecting a new life - our baby is due in January of 2009.

God's blessings are immeasurable. We are so honored & humbled to partner with the Creator in His ultimate creation, human life. This baby is our ninth child. Two, Delsey Loye('88) & Bryenna ('94), are already blessing the Father in Heaven while enriching our lives on this earth. Each little life is so very precious.

Note: Praise the Lord and thanks to each of you who helped us make this major move - we could not have done it without you.

Our boys have been wonderful help as well, treating me like a queen, and never complaining even when I have had to sit out time and again due to my "condition". They are all excited to be getting a new sibling (yup, as you can well imagine - they're hoping and praying for a baby sister - aren't we all hoping for a girl?)Of course, we'll love & cherish whomever God has created to fill the void in our family.

Thankfully, this pregnancy, thus far, has been a bit easier than the rest though the huge move and the summer heat have taken their toll which among other factors puts me into the high risk category this time - even with a clear history of six great pregnacies & deliveries.

But all is in God's good hands. This baby is the work of His hands as we've put our trust in Him. Please pray with us that He will be glorified in and through everything.

Glass Lizards 'n' Such

How would you respond if, as a mother of six boys, you were asked to close your eyes and hold out your hand?

Our boys have been totally enthralled by all the adventures in wildlife they find on their new farm ...

Glass lizards are one such readily available creature of interest:



They crawl out on the deck all around the house and if the boys are quick enough they can catch one - for a moment, because you see, these shiny black/blue reptiles have a unique ability to "break" off their tail when caught - leaving you holding a wiggling tail while they adeptly make their hasty escape. (Notice the tail lying in front of the lizard?)

In addition to that, these amazing creatures can also clear the house of every helping hand at a mere mention of their presence.

Boys will be boys!!!!!!

So back to the question, what is a mother to do when asked to close her eyes and put out her hand? It takes a lot of trust to do that when I've got visions of a wiggling tail on my mind ... but, my son was good to me that time and just gave me a citronella coil bracelet to wear to ward off mosquitos.

And ... that's just one of the many interesting wildlife adventures in this new place!

Glimpses

Some glimpses of our new home (& the resulting chaos of a move):

We've Arrived @ Our New Home

Three days of loading & three hours of unloading ... and our whole kit 'n' kaboodle is here at our new home, the farm in Manitoba that we've been talking about and dreaming about since April 12th when we first saw the place.

Loading... (one of the heaviest barrels)





And unloading ...





God has been so gracious to us as friends and family have rallied to offer their helping hands in getting us packed, loaded and unloaded. Thanks to everyone that helped - we your consider efforts a blessing! May God bless each of you in return!

Today, Saturday, August 2nd, we are just coasting along - doing whatever we find to do and feel like doing right now. It's been a gruelling week so far and we won't be getting much done anyway before we head back to SK to help harvest the 2008 cherry crop at our Warman farm - thus we need to rest up & relax.

The boys are all out exploring their new territory - basically enjoying being boys and doing what boys do best. Ken has gone for the afternoon to help his folks with preparations for their 50th Wedding Anniversary which is tomorrow afternoon.

... and I? Besides blogging, unpacking a few boxes, and doing some laundry, I'm exploring my new home & gardens, getting a feel for what is here and how I can put our household into this place in an organized fashion.

Planning, painting & placing are the things on my mind ...

Preserving Provisions

This is the time of year that God supplies us with bountiful provisions from gardens & orchards etc.

Last week, we were blessed to glean 7 pails of saskatoon berries from roadside bushes - we prefer the intense flavor of wild berries and the additional huge benefit that they are grown naturally without the chemicals necessary in a domestic garden setting.

Even though we are seriously busy with packing and moving, I find it so very difficult to pass up the bounty of the season when I know we will be needing it this coming winter. So we took time today, Saturday, to go out to our honey farmer's yard to pick raspberries. He invites folks to come for $7 per day/ per person. Ken & 5 of the boys picked 4.5 pails. Thanks guys!


While they were out picking raspeberries, Carsyn picked my beans which were also ready today. I stemmed the three pails and packed them into canning jars to make our favorite veggie dish - "Singin' Beans".

Thank You, Jehovah Jireh. Praise the Lord for His provision.

Friday: A Hard-Earned Break

A reward earned by walking a 7.5 km Walk-a-Thon - flights over Saskatoon & our farm ... we just had to take the time out to do this!

Up, Up & Away...


Their smiles & intent scan tell all ...


Professional pilot! This was Timothy's first flight...


Taking it all in...


One last picture of our home in SK. God has blessed us so very richly here. We are so thankful. It will always be filled with memories - good ones, great ones, tough ones, growing ones ... God's grace here has been sufficient in every way.



"That was sure fun!"

The twins, Benjamin & Bronlin, were just three months old the first time this annual Prayer-Walk-a-thon was held to benefit Western Tract Mission. They have been on the walk every year since - twice in their stroller, twice walking along with the rest of the family (and/or riding the shoulders of their Daddy or brothers).
This flight was the second time we've earned this prize at the walk-a-thon, this time the twins were old enough to go up in the plane and "make a memory".

What a reward. I'm so glad for them, as I am glad for the other boys too, they all earned this reward ... they had fun!

We all enjoy this annual Walk-a-thon ... Benjamin put it into great words yesterday after his reward flight over Saskatoon when he said, "I got two treats, walking and flying!"

To God be All Glory!

Farmer's Market One Last Time

Our farm buyers requested a day at the market with us as part of their introductory business "training".




The market was 11:00 AM - 5:30 PM. By the time, the children & I arrived around 2:00 a lot of produce/baking was already sold out ... but there's only so much a person can do!!!!

We've found the market to be "like a job", therefore we deem it not a necessary part of our itinerary. We LIKE living outside of the rat race.

But to humor the buyers ... we picked fresh zuchini, dug new potatoes, baked more zuchini into Zuchini Breads and added the variety of Banana Bread(these breads sell WELL!), baked up that one last tub of cherries from last year into Cherry Tarts and Cherry Coffee Cake, made two pans of our ethnic "Platz" using fresh rhubarb and saskatoon berries (this time I made one panful of each though I have combined the two fruits for a nice variation as well), Sesame Crisps are always a hit, and of course, the staple - Whole Wheat 'n' Flax Bread with its variation made into Focaccia. We always bring along some of our organic eggs, copies of my cookbook and this summer our boys have sold quite a few of their pyrography wood photo frames (good job guys!).






Those things nicely fill a table & line our pockets when we go to market. Some of the boys have found that they rather enjoy the time interacting with people and we've met some really nice, interesting folks as well, I might add. So not only is it an income venture it is also a learning growing experince - one that the boys can do with their Dad (another bonus!)

All that preparation done on Wednesday, our regular egg marketing day - this time, also introducing our egg clients to the new owner who came along with us for another aspect of his "training". We, and they, are working to make this a smooth transition for them - but I'm sure there will be surprises along the way for them anyway. Such is the nature of ... farming!

What a day!

Thank you, Lord, for Your sufficient grace!