Well this is awkward. What does one say when one has a blog and has not written therein for over a year? This ‘getting back into it’ post has been hanging over my head for some time now and just gets more difficult with time passing.
There is so much to catch you up on!
About the time I stopped writing in the winter, I found out I was pregnant with baby #6. What a surprise! We had already planned a big garden, and decided to go ahead with it in spite of the challenges of weeding with a growing belly. I planted the rows farther apart so we could take a tiller in between the rows to cut down on time spent weeding.
We grew around 450 lbs of potatoes, a wheelbarrow load of carrots, lots of broccoli and cauliflower, and enough cabbage to make 7 1/2 gallons of sauerkraut. We also grew snap peas, and this year instead of blanching and freezing a lot, I pickled and canned them instead the way I do the smaller carrots. Dill peas. They’re really good!
In the spring and summer, Andy started his own business on the side building small greenhouses and delivering them. That job is somewhat seasonal, and dependent on word getting out, so he also works part time at a roof metal shop.
(Andy shot a cow moose in August when his parents were here for a visit!)
I also started an online business this year connected with my Instagram account, and the affiliate marketing along with Andy’s jobs have provided enough to pay for a new engine for our Excursion (We don’t fit in a mini van anymore!), the midwife fee, and even to save up for materials to build the shop! Trusses are being made currently at a local shop, and we’re hiring a construction crew in January to get the shell up and the roof on. Exciting times! We’ve also been planning our house design, and hope to build up this coming summer.
Chase Andrew was born on October 9th, making us a family of 8! It’s amazing how much can happen in a few short years. It feels like we just got married, but here it’s been nine years!
Life has changed a lot for me since Chase’s birth. He is a fussy baby who easily gets overstimulated, so I’ve been staying home from basically everything lately. With the snow and colder weather, it’s a nice time of year to just cozy in. We’re also in the thick of homeschool, with a 3rd grader, 1st grader, and two going through kindergarten together, plus a one year old and a baby. Life is not dull!
My goal is to start writing here again as time allows. Part of it is just a matter of getting into the habit again.
I hope you all have a blessed holiday season with your families!
What a sweet photo of Chase and the family photo of all 8 of you. The greenhouse looks like a wonderful addition to your amazing garden process. That is one thing we just never made an effort with because of our seasonal work on the Peninsula, Katchemak Bay, and South Central. I am hoping we can reconnect when down your way again. Love the photos of your pantry with all your canned goodies. What a wonderful feeling of accomplishment I always have after canning. So glad to catch up on your blog and see your posts.
It was really good to hear from you again! It brought back memories of AK! I was fascinated by that big concrete pour. Was that a base for one of Andy’s green houses? Or more likely the floor for your new shop?
Dale
It was good to hear from your family again. I hadn’t even known about the last baby until this weekend at the Stoltzfus cabin where we saw pictures of him. A few months back, I realized that I hadn’t heard from you for a while and checked to see if your blogs weren’t coming to our inbox anymore, but then I saw that you hadn’t sent any out since Feb. I thought maybe with summer gardening and homeschooling the rest of the year, you were too busy. It’s nice for you to send out a blog at least once a year to see an updated picture and hear about your lives. Keep on keeping on! Your family takes priority right now, though. Betty Joy
It was so fun to hear about your life/family again!!