I am now at Homesteadblogger.com

http://www.homesteadblogger.com/Snowberryfarm/

Come on over!!!! 

I recently found out about the new Homestead blogger affiliated with this site, and I am so excited! It's me!!! I just signed up, and am amazed at how many people are already over there blogging away about their farm animals, life on a farm, and all that comes with homesteading, or attempting to homestead. I think I will learn so much there, and hopefully have some things to share along the way as well.

I will post a link soon, as I am just getting started!

Wishing you all many blessings for 2006!

Michelle

As Christmas approaches, I find myself reflecting more on the blessings I have, and the things around me I am thankful for. Today, I have so much to thank God for, sometimes just the little things are what I feel blessed by, and I thought I'd share a few here.

• My current health crisis. It has been a difficult struggle, one that has tested me in so many ways, yet somehow I am starting to see it as a gift, and finding the blessings in it. I know it will all glorify God in the long run.
• The joy that the Christmas season brings.
• The peace the Christmas season brings to my son. His behavior is almost perfect this time of year. He can't do anything that might ruin his chance at opening his presents!
• The peace in our home we experience this time of year with our son on his best behavior!
• Watching my husband making his annual fudge in the kitchen. Not that I can have any this year, but it's fun to see him keeping up his tradition.
• Seeing the excitement in my children's faces as they experience all the season has to offer.
• Sledding in the snow. We are fortunate to live right next to an orchard that is on a hill. Next to the orchard behind our barn is a great sledding hill. We have spent much time there the past few weeks.
• The joy of listening to Christmas carols and songs that warm your heart and put you in that wonderful Christmas spirit.
• Opening Christmas cards.
• Connecting with friends and those we don't see often.
• Spending time with family.
• Having the opportunity to teach my children that although Santas are nice and presents are fun, the truth about Christmas is God's only son!

                        Have a blessed Christmas!

As I sit here tonight, I am looking out my window at the beautiful snow and ice covered trees and the twinkling christmas lights on my porch. The next thing I know, our neighbors dogs are invading the porch after one of my cats. I jump up, and bang on the window, and they just ignore me so I open the door and they finally run away. About two weeks ago it was those same two dogs who came up on the porch and killed my sweet baby kitten. I had no idea they would do this. They have also been getting into our garbage cans on a weekly basis and have been spotted trying to get to our bunny in her hutch.  So, my husband called animal control and was told that the best thing to do would be to shoot and kill the dogs the next time they are on our property. We don't own guns, so we weren't sure about this. We were also told we could trap them and take them to the pound. I talked to my dad who is a hunter and he said shooting them is not the best idea, as they will probably only get wounded and run home. I don't want to do that. After talking with my husband about this for a few days, I finally approached the neighbor to explain the issues we are having with his dogs. He asked us to shoot his dogs with bb guns to train them to stay off our property. I agreed that we could try this, but it doesn't seem to be working. We don't always see them when they are on the property, as they seem to come out more at night to do their dirty work. I am not sure what to do next. I guess this is just part of life in the country, however I wish we didn't have to take on all the responsibility of training the dogs, when they aren't even ours!

The funny thing is we went to a Christmas play this weekend called "Doc's Holiday". It was a comedy about a guy who was very fed up with his neighbors dog coming up on his porch! We all got a good laugh, as we could definately relate!

Well, I didn't quite fix my computer that day, as it was infested with some mean viruses, but is now home from the shop, and working fine again.

Just tonight as I was holding my 4 yr old baby in my arms, I asked her what she likes most about Christmas, and to my amazement, she said "giving"! I was shocked, since I have not really talked with her much about this yet, but have observed that she is just a natural "giver", and she loves to give things. One of her favorite things to do is to go into her room, and wrap up one of her toys in a small blanket, announce that she has something for me, and then she lights up as I open it. It is the sweetest thing. Since I have seen how much she loves to give, and my son loves to give as well, I decided it was time we adopt a family for Christmas again. So, I called some agencies the other day, and found that they are all in  great need of people to adopt families for Christmas. You can call up almost any social service agency and tell them you are interested in adopting a family for Christmas. You can even tell them the size of the family you can help, and they will match you with one right away.

I remember the first family I ever helped. This was not a tradition my own family did, but my junior year in high school, my home-ec class adopted a family for Christmas. My friend and I were the designated deliverers. We only met the father, and he was such a sweet, humble man. He had suffered a severe back injury, and could no longer support his family with the work he knew how to do. Since then, I have adopted a family every year. Some of the next years I was single, and in college, but I still rememebered that man, and the look on his face as I placed a turkey in his arms to share with his family for Christmas dinner, and I somehow made it a priority to give to a family each Christmas no matter what. I haven't always been able to give a lot, but I know I can always find something to bless someone with. I remember one year when my husband and I were dating, we adopted a single mom and her two kids. When we arrived at their apartment, all they had was a large green peice of paper cut out in the shape of a Christmas tree taped to the wall. When we brought in our gifts, they were so excited and the kids placed them under the bare paper tree against the wall, and the mom was in tears. I wonder who God will give us this year? I am excited! This is one of my favorite aspects of the Christmas season! God Bless!

Michelle

A few years back I heard something that has stuck with me, and I do this often around Christmas time. Instead of asking kids "What do you WANT for Christmas?" I ask them, "What are you GIVING for Christmas?" The look I get from some children is one of confusion at first, and then once it sinks in, they usually try to think about it and tell me what they would like to give someone. It is funny to see the responses at first, but I believe it helps them focus more on others and the spirit of Christmas than on themselves.

Gotta go, I am trying to fix my computer, it seems to be acting up! More to come...

Okay, I am so excited right now, as I just tasted the (healthy) chocolate I just made, and it was good! My dh even liked it! It is very good for you, and only took me about two minutes to whip up.

Here's the recipe:

Faux Chocolate

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and place in the freezer while you mix the following ingredients.

1/2 cup coconut oil-I use organic extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil. This stuff is sooo good for you! Heat it in a bowl in the microwave for 1 minute.

Stir in 2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder, stevia to taste, and a dash of cinnamon. Pour into the lined pan and freeze. Mine only took about a minute and it was ready. Break into peices and store in the refrigerator.

For those of you who have never given up chocolate or sugar cold turkey before, I must say, it is one of the hardest things to do! I am struggling today. It doesn't have to be chocolate, I'll take anything sweet. But, by Dr's orders, I am not allowed not one grain of sugar, fruit or anything sweet until further notice. This is tough. I am getting creative though. I used to hate carob, but the other day, out of desperation, I ate some natural, unsweetened carob chips, and I swear, it was pure heavenly chocolatey tasting! Now I know I've gone over the edge. I work 20 hrs a week, and last week my co-workers celebrated my birthday, and one of my sweet friends brought chewy, moist, chocolatey chocolate chip brownies to celebrate with, and as all of my co-workers dug in, and started to indulge, out of our little office refrigerator she pulled out this little pan of something. She had made me a special birthday treat because she knew I couldn't eat the brownies. It was made of tofu, pure unsweetened cocoa sweetened with stevia, and vanilla mixed up over a triscuit crust. I am sure your mouth is watering now. Let me tell you, it tasted great! I was so touched by her ability to do this for me! Now when the others in the office tasted it, they all just about lost it. It is amazing to me how aversive most people are to really healthy food. They don't want to even try to change their eating habits. I see this all the time at work. Even those that want to lose weight wouldn't try my little dish. Oh well. I enjoyed it! So, to answer some of the questions I've had regarding this healthy eating adventure, no,  my family is not enjoying my new found way of cooking yet either. Today was the first time I felt I am making some progress with it though.  Tonight we had 3 people from church over for dinner and I made crock pot taco soup that everyone seemed to love! No dessert for me though. One day when I am finally back to normal, I believe that I will continue on this path of cooking and eating right, but I hope to be able to enjoy an occasional treat once in awhile, but it won't be a daily occurance as it always has been. More to come...

For the past month I have been on a tranforming mission, to rid my body of many toxins that have been making me sick! I started by taking all sugar, yeast and sweetners of any kind, except stevia out of my diet. This was hard at first! I am used to drinking my almost daily mochas, eating whatever sweet treat someone puts in front of my face, and drowning myself in carbs. After all the research I have done, I knew this was what I had to do. Then, last week, I visited a naturopathic physician for the first time in my life. He confirmed the diagnosis I had given myself! I am now following this diet, along with taking supplemental herbs and vitamins. This will continue until just before Christmas, where I will then assess where I am at. This has been a roller coaster ride for me. One day I am feeling great as I know what I am doing is healthy, and will greatly improve my health. Then the next day is a struggle as I watch everyone I come in contact with eating goodies, breads and yummy drinks. My main beverage now, is sparkling water mixed with a few drops of lemon juice and stevia. Other than that it is purified water. I am finally beginning to see all of this as a blessing. I could have just taken my regular Dr.'s advice, not changed my diet and been on medication, but it never would have addressed the core issues that I am now addressing! And I would be sicker! I have learned so much in all my research. There is a natural foods store here in town called Mill Creek natural foods, and the guy who works there has been so helpful. I am meeting people who treat illnesses with herbs and vitamins and get well! Imagine that? Most of the people I talk to never even consider natural remedies. How did our society get turned around? Have most people forgotten that the Lord provides what we need to be healthy through natural plants and herbs that grow on our earth in pure forms? So much of what we do just cover up symptoms. I have also learned so much about how to cook. I thought I used to eat healthy before, because I ate a lot of veggies. Yeah, always followed by desserts of some sinful sort! You should see my kitchen now. Some of  the new ingredients on my shelves are: 100% stone ground wheat flour, buckwheat flour, and brown rice flour, raw ginger, homemade salad dressing with no sugar or vinegar, rye crisps, organic produce and probiotics. I have learned so much, but have lots more to discover!

My husband shares in the homeschooling at our house, as we both work part time. It is a wonderful situation, although sometimes I wish I was home even more, but there are also those days that I am so ready to head out the door to work. The other day he was out running errands with the kiddos, and our daughter was having a particularly difficult time. She wasn't listening, she was running off, and whining a lot. They were in Home Depot and had to leave early due to this. This is not her typical behavior, so he was caught off guard, and found himself being much more frustrated with her. So, as they were out in the parking lot getting into the van, she continued with this behavior and was being passive agressive as well, moving as slowly as she could to get in her carseat, etc. Finally, my husband turns around in the drivers seat and raises his voice at her and says something like, "Put that seatbelt on RIGHT NOW!" and her response, along with this big smile on her face was "Can I have a milkshake???"

We are still laughing,  thinking about this. It was one of those moments when you just sit back and think, she didn't really just say that, did she?  Her big brother is now walking around the house saying "Can I have a milkshake?" and it is becoming a big joke around here.

Here is a fun, festive recipe my daughter and I made this morning. It is great for fall, and smells delicious!

Pumpkin Playdough

2 1/2 Cups flour

3 Tbs Alum

1/2 Cup salt

3 Tbs Cooking oil

2 Cups boiling water

Food coloring-red and yellow to make orange

Spices-pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, ground cloves, etc.

Mix all dry ingredients

Mix food coloring and oil to water and bring to rapid boil

Pour boiling mixture into flour mixture

Stir until flour is moist

Add spices

Pour out onto counter and knead until well combined

I haven't been bloggin in a few days, because, well, the business took over! But, I am learning that it is all a matter of perspective. Even though I was busier than ever this week, I was able to put it into perspective, and slow down in my mind. By this I mean, I didn't rush. Each time the feeling that there just isn't enough time came over me, I replaced it by thanking Jesus for all that I have, and all that He is doing in my life. This perspective really seemed to slow me down, and allowed me to focus.

It has been a year since we had our front porch built on, and we have spent a good few months working on painting it as well as the house now. Wow! I have put in 5-6 hours just this week working on the porch only, and it is still not done! We also will not be able to finish the house painting until next spring. The wonderful thing about having this porch is the fact that it gives us another room to our house. A place to "hang out". So, while I was painting, the kids entertained themselves on and around the porch. Also, as I was painting, I gave my son his spelling test while he sat on the porch in the rocking chair petting his cat. We are working on the vowel "I" as this has been one letter he has the most difficulty with. With russian as his native language, there is something about the english vowels that he is just not getting. My patience has been thoroughly stretched, as he has not been able to learn vowels for a long time (3 yrs). Today we had some success!  For the first time I saw something "click" with him, and he looked excited. I had been explaining that words like, time, pine, line, etc, all have an e on the end becasue the "i" sounds like its name. He would stare at me blankly, sometimes nodding his head, or start to get frustrated and become very difficult. After he confused this concept several times again today, all of a sudden the light bulb went off! He then proceeded to get every word on his spelling test correct! Praise God!

Next week I am taking him in for some preliminary testing for learning disabilities. I know he has them, and sometimes I think it is quite severe, but what I am hoping for is some explanations pinpointing exactly what the deficit is and how to work around it to adapt his school work for success.

I better end this for now. There is so much more going on I want to write about but I need to save that for next time!

God Bless~

I like to think that I am not busy. My goal is always to slow down, yet the pace keeps picking up. I don't desire a  life of running around, back and forth, here and there, etc. I want to be a keeper of the home, a wife, a mother, and a homeschooler. I love to be home, yet I am always going, just like I say I don't want to be. I am a part time homeschooler, along with my husband, and I also work 20 hrs per week as an Occupational therapist at a clinic for children with special health care needs. I also take my son, with all of his special needs to his numerous appts. throughout the week, and as of this evening he is now attending a young life group, or more accurately, we are attending Young Life.  My daughter has her ballet class, and her new Awana class. Then there is MOPS. As the discussion group team leader, I am at the MOPS meetings twice per month, plus all the planning meetings in between. Oh yeah, of course there is church on Sundays and youth group sunday nights.  Let's not forget grocery shopping, the dentist, the vet,  and that weekly trip to Home Depot. Who am I kidding? This is not the slow pace life I am striving to create. Although it is not as busy as some, it is still too much for me! There has got to be a way to change the pace. I am praying for God to show me  how.   With the Lord's help, I will figure this all out. Stay tuned.

Today was the last day of our county fair and my mom came to town to stay with us for a few days, so we decided to go. It rained! Here in sunny central Wa, it almost never rains! I was cold! We still made the best of it, and had a great time. My daughter, 4, loved watching the bird show, and she saw a baby zebra and camel, horses and chickens. She wasn't at all into the rides and games. When we had finally been pelted enough with big raindrops and were wet and shivering, we decided it was time to go home. "Mommy, we didn't see the cows yet" was the next thing I heard. So, we made the trek all the way across the fairgrounds to the cow barn. She was in heaven. (Remember, this is my little one that wants to be a farmer when she grows up). Next door was the goat barn, and was she ever in for a treat there! Goats galore!  She found a lady who was milking her goats, and this was so intriguing to her. She stood there for the longest time, watching as two buckets were filled with milk, and we finally had to pry her away.

As we spent time with all the farm animals at the fair I started thinking about our little farm we are trying to create at home. Last week my son and I spent a couple of days getting a chicken coop area fixed up in the lower level of the barn. We are hoping to start out with some chicks in the spring, then maybe a goat or two later on. I will need to do some research on breeds and what they need, etc. My husband recently planted more grass in our pasture area, and we will be putting up fencing in the spring as well. So much to do, but it is fun!  I will continue to update as our mini farm begins to take shape!

Blessings to all!

Michelle

I am so thankful for this blog! Tonight, it is late, and I just needed a place to vent, and pour out a few thoughts. Thanks to this blog, I have somewhere to do it! First of all, what I need to get off my chest is my frustration with dealing with difficult people on the phone, or what I really mean is dealing with unfriendly people using rude behavior as they speak. I needed to make numerous phone calls today, and I am always very aware of my voice, and I try to speak in a friendly, patient manner, but lately it seems like every place I call I get someone that is so completely the opposite of this! I feel my blood pressure going up as the conversation continues. I am having the hardest time as I seem to keep having to deal with this so often. As I tend to want to raise my voice in offense, and anger, and tone, I have decided I am not going to. Instead, with one person today, I replied with a soft answer, as the Bible states, and I actually did hear a change in tone with this person. This is something I need to work on and continue doing! God's ways are so amazing, and when we put them into practice, especially when our ways would have been so different, it is such a testimony to our Lord's wisdom.

I am also contemplating and praying about church. I am not sure what the Lord wants us to do, but there has been an unsettled feeling in my heart about our church for the past year, and I am just not sure what the Lord is saying. DH has wanted to stay, but also is open to changing if that is what the Lord is telling us. We are not the type to jump around from church to church, and like to be grounded in one place, but this last year has been hard. I am seeking God's will in this, and we will continue to pray. 

God Bless!!!

My daughter is the joy of my life. She is just turning 4 this week. I am so blessed. She is a very curious, sweet, affectionate, kind hearted, sensitive child. Her laugh melts my heart.  I know children are a gift from the Lord, and in her case, this was a very real thing. At the time my husband and I decided to try and have kids of our own, the Lord was telling us to do something else. We were sent to Russia on a short term mission trip. I reluctantly, but expectantly followed this call in obediance. While there, as I prayed for the Lord to show me just one child I could help while I was there, God very clearly showed me that he had a son there waiting for me. This was a shock, but our God is a big God that does big things. After returning to the US, I was on a mission to get back to russia as soon as possible to get him out of that orphanage and to bring him home to the family God had chosen for him. This meant putting off having children of our own, and waiting on God to create a path back to our son. We knew it would be a few years before having a biological child, as our new son would need a lot of time to adjust. We went through so much for the next 8 months, but found during this time, that when everyone else said it couldn't be done, God was able to make a way when there seemed to be no way. We were finally given an invitation and a court date from the russian government in March of 2001 to adopt our 11 yr old son, in Vladimir, Russia. The day before we were leaving to go get our son, something didn't feel quite right, I felt different, and knew I needed to see a Dr. before going back to russia. We quickly ran to a walk in clinic, as we were in a different city getting ready to catch a plane the next morning. To our complete surprise and amazement we were told I was 6 weeks pregnant!  Our precious daughter was born the following Sept. Our son had a little sister and he was so excited! To this day, they have a very special bond. God's plans for us were not what we expected, but he knows what he is doing! God knows the desires of our heart, and he is so faithful, and blesses us abundantly far beyond anything we could possibly imagine!

Michelle

My favorite season is here...Fall. Fall represents so much to me. It is a season of change, and I live in a place that gets the full effect of every season which I am so thankful for. I love the crisp air that fall brings, after a long hot summer. I love the colors of fall. I love to spend time outside, getting the yard ready for winter, as the leaves are changing all around me. I think of all that has been harvested, and all God has done over the year. I love the pumpkins, and the activities that fall brings. It is a peaceful time. My daughter was born in the fall, which also makes it very special. Fall is a beautiful time of year and I thank God for this season!

Just had to share this, as this was quite an accomplishment for me. I am reading an awesome book right now called "Healing Prayer" and it was talking about something I have been interested in for a long time, which is the mediterranean diet, which is very close to what the bible outlines for what we should eat. I am slowly trying to work toward eating more biblically, lower my portion sizes, and cut way back on sugar and carbs. So far I have had a 16 lb weight loss. I love to provide healthy meals from foods that God intended us to eat,  so yesterday this is what I came up with, and it was actually good!

Tofu burgers (Tofu mixed with breadcrumbs and spices, cooked in olive oil)

Brown rice mixed with pineapple and cucumber chunks, with a splash of raspberry vinegar dressing.

Green salad with homegrown yellow pear tomatoes, pear slices from the orchard, with a sesame pear vinagrette dressing. 

This was all very easy to make!

God is so good...and so real, and so faithful. I just needed to write about that today, and give Him all the praise and glory. There are times in life when struggles and trials come our way, and things seem very bleak, but that little light of hope still shines deep down there somewhere. The trick is to grab that little light, hold onto it, and bring it out bigger and brighter than ever, believing that all of God's word is true, and it is the same yesterday, today and forever! The Lord has been showing me so many things lately, and every time, I am so humbled, and cannot believe in my humanness, how I could have ever doubted Him, again! Thank you Lord, for sticking with me, even when I doubt how much you can and will do!

Just recently I was going through a time when things seemed dark in many areas. But somewhere, in the back of my mind, I saw that light of hope, glimmering. How did I bring light back into the darkness? Prayer. That is it. Healing came, and I am in awe. What an awesome God we serve!

In light of the Hurricane, this quote keeps coming to mind, which is one I love, and often think of:

"Stop telling God how big your storm is, instead tell your storm how BIG your God is."

It is a mindset that God wants us all to have. God is BIG enough to do so much more than we can ever imagine!

Blessings!!!

Well, I can't really say it is a farm "yet", since it is still a work in progress, but it is a lot of land to take care of, an acre and a half, a barn, large trees, a pasture area, and three other seperate yard areas. We also have 5 cats, or make that nine, if you count the four baby kittens that were born last week. We also have my son's dog, Princess, and my daughters rabbit, Nibbles, who is the cutest little fur ball you've ever seen. Does that count? Maybe that does make this a farm. When I say work in progress, I mean work in progress. We have been working on this place for over ten years now! Right now we are in the midst of painting the house, and then painting the barn will come next. Our barn is actually bigger than our house! I don't think we will begin tackling that until spring. Then there are the weeds. Yesterday, I decided to spend my day "cleaning up" the yard. I was out there for hours, raking, and weeding, and feel like a barely made a dent! I am glad I did it though. There is so much to keep on top of  here. For years we didn't even have all the things we needed to keep on top of it. We have needed to invest in sprinkler systems and riding lawn mowers, and now we are doing much better. This year we planted grass in our garden area so that we could focus on the other areas. Someday when we have all the big projects done, we will then re visist the garden. I am getting excited now, knowing we are getting closer and closer to what we have wanted our home and little farm to be. And our children enjoy the space. There is room to run, animals to play with, trees to climb, flowers to pick,  and grass to roll around on. We are also partially surrounded by a pear orchard. I really to love our little farm. I have visions of farm animals, and harvest parties on the porch, and much, much more, but it will all be in God's time. When I think back, so many of my dreams have already come to pass. I dreamt of having children and raising them on a small farm. I always wanted a tree swing, and there is one now hanging in the maple tree, and I really hoped to have a front porch to sit on one day, and now it is built.  The Lord has been so good. I am hoping that God will cast a vision of how I can use what He has placed in our hands for more of  His glory.