Stressed, Overwhelmed and Taking Stock

I am feeling slightly stressed and overwhelmed these days.  So much to take care of on a daily basis.  One son finishing up a couple of required courses to complete his official homeschooling days, another one who is taking matters into his own hands and working ahead without me (which is a good thing...just means I need to re-evaluate some of our homeschooling methods and order some curriculum to fit the needs of my highly independent learner), another child who would just spend the day reading and is having a hard time stepping over the threshold from childhood to young adulthood.  There is  another who due to speech delays is now having some reading delays. I see progress, but we need to be more consistent in working together.  And then we have a three year old who thinks he is just as old as everybody else and must have planned activity to keep him occupied and to keep me sane.  I'm in a time crunch (self-imposed) to finish up math courses and history so that we are ready to start new math levels after the holidays and start a new history curriculum as well.

Add the school concerns with the medical needs, special foods due to allergies (I think I will have to take the ENTIRE family off of wheat due to Caedmon's severe wheat allergies...the last few times I have ground wheat he seemed to have a slight reaction), Jeff's and the  children's musical activities outside the home (me?  Yes, I dropped my outside musical activities years ago and now am satisfied with daily singing with the little guys and occasionally sitting down to play for a time at the piano), extra church meetings, remodeling projects and my normal food prep, cooking, cleaning and now the Christmas shopping to do as well...I find myself having to drop projects that I have planned in order to meet the needs of the family.  Isn't that what Moms do?

Lots of toys, books, kitchenware and clothes will be donated to others instead of that yard sale I had been planning.  The Christmas decorating may be taken down a notch as most of the family has been too busy to help with it.  I will drop much of our school plans and focus on finishing up history and math with the older ones and spend more time working on the reading with the younger one.  We'll finish up that missionary biography and try to read a Lamplighter book or two this season. More planned activities for the three year old will be necessary, though.

Hoping I can convince the children that we don't need all those Christmas food treats....maybe everyone can pick ONE recipe that they would love to have.  Ha!!  That still gives us EIGHT treats.  I'm sure my girls will come up with about that many between the two of them...they both love to bake!

Past time to get the ball rolling on this day.  Some laundry to take care of in my freshly tiled laundry area, a kitchen to clean, some organizing to do, some school work to do and piano lessons and shopping this afternoon....which will be much easier to do in our new-to- us Yukon XL!!  Shopping in bulk at Sam's while joined by many children in a pickup truck doesn't work too well in the rain.  The rain won't stop my shopping days now!

It's Monday!!

Snow and ice?  Wow!!  Predictions this morning are for up to 2-3 inches of snow accumulation for tomorrow morning.  It's still November, right?  Last Christmas we woke up to a deep blanket of snow which is very unusual for us in Mississippi, but this early would be even more unusual.  Lettuce, turnip greens, cabbage, brussel sprouts and spinach are all growing in our garden.  Should we cover them?  I think Jordan will be doing some research this morning.  The chicken coop has some light that can keep things warmed up for them, but with 26 hens I don't imagine they will have any problem keeping warm and cozy.  The roosters, housed in one of the chicken tractors until we can get them slaughtered may need more attention, though.

Thankfully, due to our keeping our own "store" there will not be any mad rush to purchase grocery or other items to make it through the storm.   We are really enjoying having foods and toiletries in stock and adding to our stock each month.  This weekend I also made up about 15 meals for the freezer, so not only are we prepared for ourselves, but I will be able to share a homemade meal with a family who just moved into this area and will be able to share some staple items from our own store with some friends who are having a financially tough time right now.  What a blessing!

Our chickens are now giving us around 120 eggs per week!  Another wonderful blessing!  And we are sharing with others as well as having plenty of eggs for all of our holiday baking.  As I mentioned before, I would love for  you to share some of your favorite EGG-Y recipes in the comments.

After 4+ years of driving to church, the homes of extended family and vacations in two cars, I can happily report that we now have a vehicle that we can all ride in!  I am such a tightwad that everytime Jeff would discuss getting a Suburban or large van I would hem and haw about it.  I would much rather spend money elsewhere!  But with Caedmon's recent anaphylactic reaction and the mad rush to the hospital we realized that it would be foolish for me not to have a vehicle available at all times.  There were at least two days a week that I was home with no vehicle.  Now, we have a new-to-us Yukon XL that all 8 of us can ride in.  No more taking two vehicles to church and small group or even to grandma's house.  We are looking forward to being together more, listening to books on CD as a family or even reading out loud in our confined surroundings.  That is one thing I have really missed about having a family vehicle!

We are finishing up the Christmas decorating this morning while Jeff is home laying tile in our back entryway.  We hope to get the kitchen painted with new lighting and flooring before the new year as well.  And perhaps we'll even get some school work done!

I still have to process the fat from our hog and hopefully turn it into usuable lard for baking and soapmaking.  I have some cabbage fermenting in a 6 gallon crock, but really have no idea what I am doing!!  Share with me please, if you have successfully made saurkraut the old-fashioned way!

And we missed the start of Advent last night due to being out later than intended so we will double up tonight to make up.  Does your family celebrate Advent?  It's been a wonderful part of our celebrating Christ's birth for the past 17 years and makes Christmas so much more meaningful than focusing on Santa Claus and gift giving.  I shared a little bit about Advent in October in this post.

Our family has been praying for little Noah Estes, four year old son of Jeff and Kate Estes for a while now.  Noah has mitochondrial disease and is struggling right now.  Here is a link to Kate's latest post.  Please add this sweet family to your prayers.  I cannot imagine the emotions the family is going through right now.

Now, it's time to get things rolling around here.   Some of the older kids have slept in thirty minutes, so I may need to get the whip cracking...LOL!!  And some of my older children were up before dawn.  Time to get breakfast going and face the busyness of the day.  Hope you all have a blessed Monday!

homesteadblessings.blogspot.com

Menu Plan for November 28-December 4

Monday
Breakfast-apple/cranberry baked oatmeal--one with eggs and milk, one with rice milk and no eggs
Lunch-leftovers, popcorn and fruit
Dinner-hot open faced turkey sandwiches, home fries

Tuesday
Breakfast-pancakes, sausage, eggs
Lunch-baked potatoes, salad, fruit
Dinner-spaghetti, salad, garlic bread

Wednesday
Breakfast-granola, toast, eggs
Lunch-leftovers
Dinner-pinto beans with ham and onions, cornbread, carrot sticks, and olives

Thursday
Breakfast-blueberry muffins, eggs
Lunch-turkey salad sandwiches, fruit, popcorn
Dinner-baked chicken, green beans, cob corn, baked sweet potatoes

Friday
Breakfast-pancakes, bacon, eggs
Lunch-leftovers
Dinner-shrimp gumbo or potato soup for those allergic to shrimp

Saturday
Breakfast-biscuits, sausage, eggs, grits
Lunch-leftovers
Dinner-grilled porkchops, baked potatoes, green beans, grilled onions and garlic, homemade bread

Sunday
Breakfast-cinnamon rolls
Lunch-finger foods at church
Dinner-potluck with small group

The Saturday After

Whew!!  Lots going on this Saturday after Thanksgiving!  My to do list is quite long today and I hope to get much done.  All of the Thanksgiving decorations are put away, the turkey has become a gallon bag of meat and two gallons of wonderfully rich broth.  Most of the leftovers have actually been eaten.  Breakfast prep is underway and I  have already folded two loads of laundry. Here's the rest of my to do list for this busy Saturday!

-make bread-- three pans of cinnamon rolls, two normal sized loaves of wheat bread and 4 mini loaves of wheat bread
-can applesauce (yes, this was on my list a week or so ago and I have two gallons in the fridge that must be canned today!)--I may freeze the applesauce now
-mega-batch of spaghetti sauce for the freezer
-mega-batch of turkey pot pie base for the freezer
-mega-batch of turkey soup base for the freezer
-chicken enchiladas for the freezer and for tonight's dinner- made three pans!!  Yippee!
-finish the Christmas decorating
-finish laundry
-iron for tomorrow

Devin is busy crafting, but I hope she will make time to cut three of the boys' hair.  Jeff is doing some of his home business work this morning and will be taking our new-to-us Yukon XL in for an oil and filter change after breakfast.  The boys will help with some of the indoor chores and then move outside to clean up some leaves and trash and I hope Kaelan will be a willing sous chef with me in the kitchen.  Many hands make light work....or at least make the work easier to manage!!

I think that's more than enough for today!  What's on your to do list this Saturday after Thanksgiving?

Little Ones on Thanksgiving Day

Grandson Chase, 4, in a pile of leaves

Chase with his brother, Elisha, 2 , and sister, Ashtyn Claire, 14 months

The three stairstepped amigos-Elisha, 2, Uncle Caedmon, 3, and Chase, 4

Caedmon loves his nephews....when he isn't fighting with them!

The grands all in a row

I do believe that Eli is a ham!!

See what I mean?

Now, this is better!

Sweet blessings!

Our oldest daughter, Lauren, with her daughter....Lauren is expecting her fourth baby in February!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Blessings

We are counting our blessings today!  How about you?

-thankful for the completed work of Christ

-a home that gives us shelter

-a job that Jeff loves

-children who are growing in Godly wisdom

-freezers, a refrigerator and shelves stocked with wonderful foods

-hands that are willing to work

-minds that are capable of learning

-music in our home

-sweet snuggles from little guys

-a shoulder to lean on when the day has been wild

-tools to get a job done

-medical help when it is needed

-friends who encourage

-books, books and more books

-Gods' amazing grace

When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

Does the cross seem heavy you alre called to bear?

Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,

And you will be singing as the days go by.

When you look at others, with their lands and gold,

Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold;

Count your many blessings, money cannot buy

Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

So, amid the conflict, whether great or small, 

Do not be discourage, God is over all;

Count your many blessings, angels will attend,

Help and comfort give you to your journey's end.

Count your blessings, name them one by one;

Count your blessings, see what God hath done; 

 Count your blessings, name them one by one;

Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

Johnson Oatman, Jr.

Our yard

The Sights, Sounds and Smells

The turkey will soon be put in the roaster.

Thankgiving ornaments tucked in among our readers.

A variety of pies and cakes will soon be in the oven.

  

A  lone Pilgrim woman among the Landmark book collection

The casseroles, dressing and dinner rolls are in the freezer.

A little antique horse-drawn fire engine shares space with a collection of old storybooks.

Formal dishes need to be washed.

The "golden" turkey Jackson received last year at my mom's White Elephant Christmas swap.  He loves it and will proudly take it to his own home one day!

The house is somewhat in order.

Faith, hope and love....but the greatest of these is LOVE!  But really, without faith you can't  have love!

Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude for the many blessings that God has bestowed upon us this year.

We have fellowshipped.  We have maintained some family traditions.

Sweet co-op friends gave this wreath to me one year along with the table wreath in the Faith Hope Love picture.

Tomorrow we will feast and worship with family...old and young!

Some of our Thanksgiving feast will come from our own garden harvest!

Not a great picture, but I won this from the Pumpkin Pie Painter.  It's gorgeous in real life!

Psalm 36:  5-9

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, 

your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righeousness is like the mighty mountains,

your justice like the great deep.

O Lord, you preserve both man and beast.

How priceless is your unfailing love!

Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house;

you give them drink from your river of delights.

For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light we see light.

May you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving!!

The Incredible Edible Egg

We are now getting close to 20 eggs a day from our 26 spring chickens.  That means we have LOTS of eggs....enough for us and enough to share.  That also means that we are pulling out the egg recipes.  Yesterday we made two egg dishes to take to our Sunday church meals.  The first was a new one and the second was a recipe that we have used for about 20 years.

These mini frittatas were easy and delicious.  The original recipe came in the Kroger recipe magazine just this past week, but of course, I made changes to use up meat and herbs that I had on hand.


Mini Frittatas


Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray or some type of grease

8 large eggs--I used 14 small
1/2 cup milk
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 T. of dried chives

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray two mini muffin tins (24 cups size).  I used one tin twice!  Whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients stirring thoroughly.  Fill muffin cups almost to the top.  I use a ladle.  Make sure  you keep the egg mixture stirred as the bacon and herbs will sink to the bottom.  Bake about 8 minutes.  Loosen the frittatas from the muffin cups and put on serving platter.  You can serve these fresh from the oven or cold as I did for our church luncheon.  You could also refrigerate and reheat in a 325 degree oven for a quick breakfast on Thanksgiving morning!
Makes around 40 frittatas!

At our house some of us love bread pudding and some of us won't touch it with a 10 foot pole!!  Devin mixed up a panful yesterday afternoon to share with our small group from church.  It was delicious and eaten up!!  One of the men in our group told us that bread pudding was one of his love languages!  My only disappointment about it this morning is that there wasn't any left over for my breakfast!

Simply Bread Pudding


5 large eggs or 10 small eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 t. vanilla
2 cups milk
5-6 slices of bread, hamburger or hot dog buns (leftover bread is great for this)
1/2 cup butter
cinnamon

In a 9 x 12 casserole dish, melt butter.  Soak bread in the milk.  Beat eggs and add in sugar.  Continue beating.  Add vanilla.  Mix all ingredients together and pour into casserole dish.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake a 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

homesteadrevival.blogspot.com

Menu Plan for November 21-27

Monday
-granola or scrambled eggs
-vegetable soup, bread
-baked chicken, veggie rice pilaf, English peas, baked squash, salad

Tuesday
-applesauce muffins, scrambled eggs, bacon
-flatbread, hummus, olives, cheese, popcorn
-BBQ sandwiches, cole slaw, oven fries

Wednesday
-blueberry biscuits, scrambled eggs
-leftovers
-potato soup and chicken/rice soup, salad and rolls

Thursday
-applesauce muffins or blueberry biscuits, eggs
-turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, sweet and sour green beans, turnip greens, squash casserole, creamed corn, apple/cranberry casserole, sweet potato pie, apple cake, peach cobbler

Friday
-pancakes, sausage
-leftovers
-leftovers, salad

Saturday
-biscuits, sausage, eggs, grits
-grilled turkey sandwiches, tomato soup
-chicken enchiladas, Army Man Rice, refried beans, chips, salsa

Sunday
-cinnamon rolls
-finger foods at church
-dinner with church small group

The Blessings of Epi-pens, Ambulances, EMTs and Emergency Rooms

If you saw my earlier post from this week, you know I had a lot planned.  Lots of school work, lots of house work, lots of appointments and lots of kitchen work.  What I hadn't planned on was Caedmon having an anaphylactic reaction Tuesday evening!  We used the epi-pen, drove into town while giving him a breathing treatment and met the ambulance to complete the drive to the hospital.  

When his oxygen level was revealed they stepped up the pace to a code three so we arrived at the hospital in style with lights, sirens and flying through the streets of Tupelo!  We were blessed with wonderful care in the emergency room and Caedmon was quickly stablized and sleeping.  We stayed for a few hours to make sure all was ok and were home in our own beds by 11 o'clock.  Yesterday he was jumping on the trampoline.....steroids give him lots of energy!!

Unfortunately, this is something we are always watching for due to his severe allergies and asthma.  Also unfortunately, he is not our first child to be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance for the same problem. With six of our seven children having asthma and two of them with SEVERE food allergies days like Tuesday are always a possibility even with all the precautions we take.  Thankfully, we carry Epi-pens everywhere we go these days.  Using the Epi-pen bought us a little time on Tuesday night....time that very well could have proved life-saving.  

We are so thankful for the medical advancements for asthma sufferers that have been made in my lifetime.  My children don't have to suffer through long periods of wheezing as I did.  We are thankful for well-trained medical personel who acted quickly and kindly in making sure Caedmon had everything he needed.  It was amazing to us that the doctor thanked US for being kind, patient and well-informed about our child's condition.  Makes us wonder what ER personnel have to deal with on a daily basis.  Even in emergency situations it is important for us to let the love of Christ flow through us.  Others are always watching and every situation is an opportunity to show God's grace.

Cooking with Apples

We have been using lots of apples lately in our daily meals, so I thought I would share some of the recipes with you.  I have shared these before, but had a request for one of them so I compiled them together here.


We always enjoy this baked oatmeal, but lately we've been adding sliced apples and about a cup of cranberries in the bottom of the dish.  Yummy!!  And did you know that you can freeze those fresh cranberries from the grocery store right in the bag they come in?  A couple of years ago I found the cranberries reduced to 25 cents a bag after Thanksgiving and bought LOTS of them.  I am down to about 4-5 pounds, so I hope to replenish them this year.


Baked Oatmeal  from Beverly Lewis' Amish Heritage Cookbook

1/4 cup cooking oil                                                  1 t. cinnamon
1/2 cup white or brown sugar                                  1 1/2 c. quick or rolled oats
1 egg                                                                        1 c. milk
1 t. baking powder                                                   1/2 t. salt

Beat together all ingredients with mixing spoon; pour into buttered 9 x 13 pan.

Bake at 275 degrees for 30 minutes or until done. 





And this apple cake is so very wonderful!!  This cake freezes well, too, so would a wonderful treat to keep in the freezer for all of those potluck dinners that will be coming up soon.

Washington Apple Cake

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup cooking oil (I used olive oil)

2 cups all purpose flour

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 t. vanilla

1 cup chopped walnuts

4 cups thinly sliced pared tart apples (I used Granny Smith)

Beat eggs with a mixer until thick and light.  (I mixed in my Bosch)  Combine sugar and oil;  pour into eggs with mixer on medium speed.  Stir together flour, cinnamon, soda and salt;  add to egg mixture with vanilla.  Beat to mix.  Stir in walnuts.  Spread apples in a buttered 9 x 13 baking dish.  Pour batter over apples, spreading to cover.  (the batter will be thick)  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.  (I baked mine for about 45 minutes)  Remove from oven and cool.

Make cream cheese icing.  Soften an 8 ounce brick of cream cheese.  Beat until fluffy.  Beat in 1/4 cup melted butter; then beat in 2 cups powdered sugar and 1 t. lemon juice.  Spread over cake.  Cut into squares and serve.  

My mother-in-law introduced me to this recipe many years ago and it has become a must for me at all turkey and dressing meals.  I do omit the pecans as we have allergy issues with nuts!  This exact recipe is also from a former church member.  Church folks sure know how to cook!!

Cranberry Casserole

1 c. peeled raw apples, chopped
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 c. uncooked oatmeal
2 c. fresh or thawed from frozen cranberries
1 stick butter, melted
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Butter a loaf-shaped glass dish. Put a layer of apples, half of each sugar, half of oatmeal, and half of nuts.  Repeat layers.  (Oatmeal is next to top layer and nuts the very last top layer.)  Pour melted butter over all and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.  Serves 8-10 people.
I use a little less sugar and you can par-bake this and freeze so make your Thanksgiving morning a little less stressful!


I have also started dehydrating apple slices.  I simply slice the apples and then after spreading them out on the trays, I sprinkle them with a little cinnamon sugar and then put them in the dehydrator.  They taste delicious and I already have a half gallon jar stuffed full!  I plan on doing more of these tasty treats this week as well.


And, because I have been buying apples by the case for the last few months making applesauce is always on the agenda.  The other day I bought another 40 pound box for only $12!!  This morning I have cut up 10 pounds of apples and they are cooking up in the slowcooker.  I will do several batches this week and then will spend one afternoon canning it all.  Here is a link to how I make applesauce in the crockpot and a recipe for some of our favorite applesauce muffins.  


I would love to see some of your favorite apple recipes.  Please share in the comments or leave a link to your own blog post.  Thanks!!

To Do

Trying to get back into a full school schedule this week after visiting with extended family for a couple of weeks so that means lots of catch up work in addition to everything else.  I have a couple of children who are almost finished with math books and we are in the final stages of our American history studies.  Jackson is doing well with his phonics instruction and met a big goal last week, so tomorrow we get to go to Barnes and Noble for a treat and to pick out a new book!  Exciting for both of us.

We also have one child with an orthodontist appointment this week after our usual piano lessons.  A overnight visit from one of my sisters tonight, dentist appointments for five of us on Thursday and an appointment with a hog and a butcher that morning.  Needless to say, we have lots going on this week.

I thought I would make things a little more challenging for myself by adding in the following extra kitchen work:

-make and can applesauce (taking advantage of some fabulous prices on apples)
-dehydrating apples
-dehydrating figs
-making granola
-making up 2-3 pans of dressing  Devin decided to make the dressing!
-making up 2-3 pans of squash casserole
-making up 2-3 pans of cranberry/apple casserole    My mother-in-law is making this dish!
-making sauerkraut
- harvest basil seeds
-apple cakes
-sweet potato pies
-chocolate chess pies

Yes, I overplan!!  Wonder how much we'll actually accomplish?  Stay tuned this week to find out!

homesteadrevival.blogspot.com

Menu Plan for November 14-20

Monday
breakfast-applesauce muffins, eggs, rice cereal
lunch-leftover hamburgers and hot dogs
dinner-chicken and dumplings, glazed carrots, English peas, green beans and blueberry cobbler

Tuesday
breakfast-cranberry apple baked oatmeal, toast, eggs
lunch-leftovers, popcorn, fruit
dinner-spaghetti, salad, garlic bread

Wednesday
breakfast-pancakes and sausage
lunch-popcorn, fruit, leftovers, salad
dinner-baked potatoes, salad

Thursday
breakfast-blueberry muffins, eggs
lunch-potato soup, salad
dinner- Hawaiian Pork Roast (recipe at the bottom of post) , sweet potato fries, salad

Friday
breakfast-pancakes, bacon
lunch-leftovers
dinner-homemade pizzas, apples dipped in caramel

Saturday
breakfast-biscuits, sausage, eggs, grits
lunch-leftovers or snacks
dinner-veggie soup, homemade bread, salad and dessert

Sunday
breakfast-cinnamon rolls
lunch-finger foods at church
dinner-small group book study/fellowship


A high school friend sent me this recipe last week.   She currently resides in Hawaii.  I can't wait to try this recipe out!  Paula suggests serving this mixture on slider buns.


Hawaiian Pork Roast

1 6 pound pork butt roast 

1 1/2 tablespoons Hawaiian sea salt 

1 tablespoon liquid smoke 

2 C apple cider

Pierce pork all over with a carving fork. Rub salt then liquid smoke over meat. 

Place roast in a slow cooker add apple cider 

Cover, and cook on Low for 16 hrs, turning once during cooking time. 

finely shred cabbage and add to crock pot - cook on high for 2 hrs 

Remove meat from slow cooker, and shred, adding drippings as needed to moisten.

Multi- Generational Barn Hopping

We were out of town for less than three days and came home to find 31 eggs in the chicken coop!!  Way to go, ladies!!

Here are two hogs we recently purchased for meat purposes.  They will soon be taken to the slaughter house and come back to our home as ham, sausage, bacon, pork loin, roasts and much more.  I am even getting the fat so I can render it to make lard for cooking and soapmaking.

Jackson would love to raise a hog or two on his own.  He's the cutest hog farmer I've ever seen!

I almost think I could draw a diagram on this picture showing the ham, pork roasts and more!

This picture shows the porch of a cabin built in the early 1800's.  My family came to Mississippi in the early 1800's and settled in Smith County.  My dad took us on a tour the other day to see the old cemetery where not  only my grandparents are buried, but also my great, great-great and great-great-great grandparents.  My great-great-great grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Sullivan was born in 1755 and he built this log cabin.  Now it is the weekend home of a distant relative, but it was lived in full-time until just a few years ago.  The exterior of the home has been covered with siding of some sort,  but the porch shows the original logs cut by hand.

This picture shows the interior of the cabin...I took the picture through the window.  You can see the high exposed beams in the roof.

This picture of the kids is in front of the corn crib.  This outbuilding is not original to the house, but is still pretty old.

This is the back door of the dog-trot cabin showing the siding that covers the original logs.  I actually grew up with the grandchildren of the last inhabitants of this house.  Our mothers were good friends who had never met each other until living in another town.

A family picture in front of the corn crib.

Kaelan took this picture as she explored around my mom's place.  It has been in the family for a long time.  My grandfather built the house with the help of his brother  and it was completed in 1961.  The older home that they lived in prior to the current home was torn down.

An old rusty stringer for fish...We used to fish a good bit at the pond on the land.

Mom likes to keep flowers blooming around the yard just like my mamaw did.

My mom loaned these items to me....the cast iron pot was my grandmother's.  I will use it over a propane burner to cook down the hog fat to make lard.  The crock holds 6 gallons and I will use it to ferment some cabbage.

And that covers some of what is going on our little homestead, a homestead from the 1800's and a homestead begun in the 1930's....all in my family.  Apparently homesteading is in my blood.

http://homesteadrevival.blogspot.com/2011/11/barn-hop-35.html