Homegrown Goodness

Being able to enjoy homegrown food is a wonderful gift! Food grown in your own garden or in a neighbors garden is the best kind of food you can get! My garden was mediocre this year, but I was still able to enjoy a few things. I garden using the Square Foot Gardening method which is perfect for anyone who wants to start a garden and even for those who have been gardening for years and want to minimize space and weeding. Check out http://www.squarefootgardening.com/ to get started on a very efficient way of gardening.

We were also able to get a wonderful bounty of homegrown goodness from the gardener and his wife down the road. Holmer has a beautiful garden and he shares his harvest for a tiny amount of money. Inge, his wife, washes up the beans and lettuce before we even get there. He seems to grow Everything!

This week and last I was able to pick grapes for free. They couldn't use them all so they were more than happy to share. I made grape jam that everyone in our house just loves. I had never made grape jam before and we were all pleasantly surprised how very tasty it was. It ended up jam instead of jelly because so much of the pulp remained after straining and I didn't want to strain again. I use Pomona's Universal Pectin that lets you use honey instead of sugar. It contains no sugar or preservatives in the pectin. I used a 1/2 cup of honey per batch. It leaves an all fruit taste and not a sugary taste. Our Country Life co-op sells it (http://www.clnf.org/) or you can visit their website at http://www.pomonapectin.com/.

I had some juice left over and I drink it with a little water. It is a perfect cleansing drink full of antioxidants and is great for energy, circulation and has a high amount of anti-aging properties.

http://www.ehow.com/facts_4793335_health-benefits-grape-juice.html

There are also little signs along the country roads advertising fresh eggs that is so worth it to stop or maybe you know someone selling eggs like I do. There really is nothing like fresh eggs!

O.K. now all my childhood friends and even those who know me now are not going to believe what I am going to say next! I WANT CHICKENS! Oh My Goodness! People still think of me as a City Slicker! Well, just because I wear a fancy dress now and then seems to throw people off when I say I would love to have chickens. I won't be cleaning the chicken coop in high heels, don't worry! So Barb said she would look out for a free chicken coop for me. Thanks, Barb!

How wonderful it is to find local food. Not only are we supporting the people and businesses around us, we are also healthier because of it!

Let's see if I can spell our favorite table grace that was also one of my Grandma and Grandpa Storm's favorite. It is in Finnish. Here goes.

Kiitos Taivallinen Isa, Kaikkista roukasa. Amen.

Thank you Heavenly Father, for all this food. Amen.

A Common Thread

Hi! I just want to talk about how sometimes when we think and wonder and have questions about things, we end up finding our answers from many different sources. For example, when I first started questioning my choice to give vaccines or not, or when I wondered if organic gardening and food was better than conventional, or even if homeschooling was right for our family, I realized the answers weren't always so plain to see at first.

I would sometimes ask God to show us what He wanted us to know about each subject or question and, sure enough, we would slowly find the answer and gain confidence in our decisions!

I started noticing a common thread that seemed to appear from many different sources. It might have been a person I met, an experience one of our family members had, a book, a newspaper article or an informational website. God had provided the answers! It wasn't always instant. Sometimes it was many years in the making, but nevertheless, the answer arrived!

I think the best thing a person can do to find an answer is first to ask for guidance, then to seek to educate themselves on the subject. When we don't educate ourselves, it is very easy to listen to the advice and opinion of others and even to give in to peer pressure or fear.

And when we seek to first ask for guidance and then to educate ourselves, a common thread will appear and then we can have confidence in our decision!

A very good informational health website is http://www.mercola.com/ He is a medical doctor that researches and interviews the experts on an assortment of health issues from subjects ranging from the flu vaccine to cell phone use to the latest news on vitamins, etc. You can sign up to receive his weekly emails like I do and then it is very easy to review the latest information.
Of course, in order to get that common thread, it is necessary to look for other sources as well.
I wish you all a healthy season!

PS. It is my lovely daughters birthday today! Karissa is 17 years old and we learned how to say Happy Birthday in Finn and since we are learning this language together, I thought I would share this with you. Hyvaa syntyma-paivaa, Karissa! (Happy Birthday, Karissa!)

Getting Through Unemployment

Hei! Mita Kuuluu! (Hi! How are you!-in Finnish)

Lenny has been unemployed from his auto design job for almost 3 months now. With 8 children and a mortgage we were a little nervous at first. The company he worked for has unemployment benefits and that is a tremendous help. It also helps that we have no other debt besides our mortgage. We have followed Dave Ramsey's advice. He is our personal finance advisor. (He could be yours,too. See http://www.daveramsey.com/)

I thought I would share with you a few things I have learned from this whole experience of unemployment.

1. God provides!

2. It's a good excuse to say "no" to running the kids all over creation! (gas is money)

3. I didn't buy annual flowers for my windowboxes and borders and it's OK!

4. I can live without buying new clothes. I have plenty in my own closet!

5. It's nice having the hubby home throughout the day. Honestly, Lenny wonders how he had time to work before!

6. I am more appreciative of what we already have!

7. I have learned to look for the window God is opening for us!

8. I have realized how loving and generous people are.

10. I have learned that children are very accepting to changes when explained to them.

11. That opportunity abounds everywhere if we look for it!

Now here is a list of what I WANT to do when Lenny gets a job:

1. Get a pedicure. I've only had 2 pedicures in my whole life, the last one being in the spring and I have to tell you that I LOVED my toes! I know it's silly, but it was so much fun to have pretty toes. I have homely feet so I felt quite fancy with my pretty toes. I also teach yoga classes and I felt pretty professional with sharp looking feet! Lenny says that this gives him a whole new motivation to get a job!

2. Buy the part to our oven that's broke so I can make homemade bread! Nothing has compared to whole-grain, homemade bread with simple ingredients! I have made a whole-grain english muffin recipe that you make on a griddle, though.

3. Get all of our small kitchen appliances fixed: k-tec blender, Kitchenaid mixer, etc that I was procrastinating about even before the layoff.

4. I would still love to get to Manistee to finally do some yoga on the beach!

5. Visit L'Anse on the bay of Lake Superior one more time when my Mom and Dad are there! They make it so much fun for us and the kids! Honestly, I think they bring life to that little town!


I definitely do not want to take having a steady paycheck for granted when we finally get one. I have learned that yes, God provides and yes, a paycheck is nice and yes, we can get by on less but I have also learned that it is a gift and a privilege to live in the Land of Plenty and all the THINGS of this world are not a REQUIREMENT! We only need a childlike faith in our Heavenly Father and to keep our eyes open to what He is trying to give us and He wants to give us EVERYTHING!

Hyvaa Huomenta, Hyvaa Paivaa

Good Morning, Good Afternoon! The kids and I had a successful first day back to "school"! We want to learn Finn, so I pulled out my Berlitz Finnish Phrase Book and wrote the greeting on the kitchen chalkboard! One of my goals in life is to know 3 foreign languages. It seems like an impossible dream, but I will keep it on my goal list for now! If anyone knows finnish and wants to share, please leave a comment. It will be fun to all learn a few phrases together. I could teach you Jesus Loves Me in Finn, but please correct my spelling if I get some words wrong. My sweet friend Eija taught it to me and the children many years ago. I have since lost touch with her, but I hope to see her again sometime. OK, so here goes!

JESUS LOVES ME (IN FINNISH )
JESUS MUA RAAKASTA

Jesus mua raakasta
Rama tu sin ilmoita
Vaikka lapsi heikokin
Henta hoita helemin

Mua Jesus raakasta
Sua Jesus raakasta
Mua Jesus raakasta
Nin sana opeta.


Ok, that was just the first verse. I can't remember the 2nd or 3rd verses, though we did know them at one time. Eija, if you ever find my blog, please help us with the rest!

A real Finn is probably laughing her head off. I am sure my spelling is atrocious! Oh Well, everyone needs a good laugh! Laughing strengthens the abs!

I hope everyone had a great 'back to school' day!

PS. I finally opened my etsy shop. I have been having tons of fun sewing again! If you want to check it out, I would be so pleased! Thank you! http://www.laurakcollection.etsy.com/