It's been a busy summer over here... both of us working and the kids finishing up 4-H projects, the fair, livestock, and more... busy has been the name of the game. We just butchered the last batch of pigs for this year, and will take the winter off of raising more. Cows are growing nicely and we may butcher the first two next year, late summer or early autumn. Horses are doing well - our mare is hugely expectant and we eagerly anticipate the birth of her little one also!
The first snow hit us a couple of weeks ago - thankfully we had advance notice that it was coming, so the kids and I spent a couple of days harvesting the garden and preparing for the weather. The snow came and went for 2 days, and frosty mornings followed for a few days - when we went back out the first day it began to warm, we found the remainder of plants dead and withered, so I am extremely grateful that we got in all that was harvestable, and we have a nice supply of corn, potatos, squash, tomatos, and more put up for winter. What a great feeling to see the freezer filled and the canning cupboards full and colorful with the bounty of this year's produce! It has been a joy to learn to grow and preserve new things each year - there is still so much for me to learn, but what an awesome opportunity! I am blessed with a wonderful mother in law, as well as good friends with a wealth of knowledge they are willing to share as I call and/ or email with questions as I seek to expand my knowledge of the homesteading arts :) Very blessed, indeed!
What we did not expect this year was our latest piece of news - another baby on the way. So soon after the birth and death of our beloved daughter Faith, I did not think it possible for me to conceive again so quickly, and yet... 4 months after her birthdate, I had a positive pregnancy test.
Meet our newest:
So far things look ok for this little one - we have had two good ultrasounds thus far, none showing the chromosomal issues little Faith had - so far, things appear to be going well, for which we are grateful. At present, we are 14 weeks along and growing!
The Lord knows the beginning from the end, and we are thankful for this little surprise blessing! At the same time, I am certainly feeling my age ;) and this pregancy has been challenging already. Your prayers for our newest little family member and me during the next few months are greatly appreciated. Due to some of the challenges of this pregnancy, I have given notice at my work, and my last day was just over a week ago. They were absolutely wonderful about everything, and I was told I have a job waiting for me should I desire to come back - which was wonderful and encouraging to hear, though my heart is for me to be home, caring for our children and home as the Titus 2 passage encourages wives and mothers to do. I am so thankful for my husband's encouragement to be home full time once again, now that he is employed full time in the civillian sector. We had a nervous couple of months as his job search met dead end after dead end, with so many saying he was overqualified for the positions open locally. He has been at his new job here for just over 3 months now and is enjoying it, though it is far removed from anything his 22 years of military service entailed!
The children are elated at the news of another sibling to love. We know that not all of our relatives will be so thrilled with this news, but hopefully they have come to understand that it is our conviction that the Lord is in charge of our fertility, and not us. That's a strange concept to wrap one's brain around in today's society, yet it is where the Lord has put us, the conviction He has placed on our hearts so many years ago (and so many children ago!) Children are indeed a blessing, a gift, from the Lord - and we are so thankful for each and every child He has blessed us with, those living, and those gone to the Lord before us. We praise Him for His great and wonderful works, even when we do not understand them or the reasons behind them.
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