We have had a huge answer to prayer in our household. As you know, I’ve been working part time at the local library for almost three years. Last week, I had my last day working outside of the home.
For the past year, I have really felt a pull to be back home full time. But, as many know, it is difficult to live on one income. Around July, I started feeling an urgency to come home. I don’t know why, and that is the best way I can explain the feelings that I had. I prayed and “told” God that if it is what He wanted for us, He would have to make a way. I kid you not, a week after praying that desperate prayer, He made a way.
Yes, it is a huge sacrifice to live on one income. We have only one car, and it’s not the greatest. We have the oldest phones possible with a cell phone plan. I can’t hear when people call me unless I turn the phone on speaker.. it is what it is. It was also much easier to leave for work and not have to make dinner or clean up messes. But.. and I have a big but…
Hard is not the same thing as bad. Did you catch that? HARD IS NOT THE SAME THING AS BAD!
Yes, baking fresh bread is harder than picking up a loaf at the store, but it is not BAD. Yes, it is hard to have a farm, but it is not bad. Yes, it is hard to be ON all the time at home, but it is not bad. Dishes and laundry are hard, but they are not bad.
The girls cheered when they found out that I wouldn’t be working anymore. I am fully aware of the blessing that we have been given. It is huge and wonderful.
I love homemaking.
I have been loving Shaye Elliot and Angela Reed’s podcast Homemaker Chic Podcast. They are challenging women to “embrace the art of homemaking”. I always laugh my face off and feel so inspired and encouraged by their words. Just thought I would plug that for them, because I appreciate it.
In the true spirit of homemaking, I am now shopping for a kitchen table and cabinet. haha! We have borrowed this beautiful table and hutch form our landlords knowing that it would leave eventually. That time is now. I found a beautiful hoosier cabinet that we can actually afford, and I am praying that it will come into our kitchen soon. We also found a kitchen table we really like a lot. But, we have some time to figure it all out.
Friends, I hope you are doing well. I know that this year has been a rough one for many.
11. Who is your best friend? I have a lot. Gretchen, Abby, Maddie, Selah, Lillian
12. What is your favorite cereal? honey nut cheerios
13. What is your favorite thing to do outside? That just got tricky. I can think of three things off the top of my mind. Riding my bike, jump roping, and flying my kite.
14. What is your favorite drink? sweet tea or cappuccino
15. What is your favorite holiday? I like them all, but I think the one that I like the most is Christmas.
16. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? blankie, I usually sleep with. (It’s a blanket she got when she was a baby.)
17. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? I like the dutch babies.
18. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Chicken and noodles with grilled cheese
19. What do you want to be when you grow up? an astronaut
20. What makes you feel happy? my family
21. Who is your favorite author? J.K. Rowling, Jenny Birdsall
It is so hard to believe that the one who made me a mama is eleven already. She is a chatty and brilliant young lady who has made her goal this year to “be more responsible.” I am so proud to be her mom.
I love garlic. I always have. Back when I was a kid, I always went into the kitchen asking my mom “What are you cooking? It smells so good.” Her answer was almost always “…..garlic….” When I learned how easy garlic was to grow, I knew I had to try. I assumed it would mostly flop, but we went for it. We planted three pounds of garlic seeds, and harvested well over 10 and a half pounds of garlic.
Last year, in late October/Early November we started planting our garlic. Now is the time to order, and farms will send your seeds in the fall! We got our garlic from Filaree Garlic Farm and obviously had great success, so I ordered through them again. All of our garlic was planted in raised beds, which allowed for larger bulbs since we didn’t have clay compacting the soil. Your planting time may differ based upon what zone you are in and your first freeze dates, so double check all of that.
Your garlic seeds will come as a whole clove of garlic. Break these apart into individual cloves. You want to space your plants 6 inches apart. The clove gets planted with the root side down. The pointy side should be facing up toward the sky. Plant them an inch deep and cover them gently with soil. Cover all of this with mulch. We used wood chips from our chip drop, but you can use straw, leaves, etc.
That’s it. Seriously. All you do is plant it, and leave it. Forget about it all winter. You will see it start to sprout when the weather begins to warm in the spring.
Somewhere around June, our plants all developed scapes. It is this curly looking thing that grows out of the top of your garlic plant. I forgot to get a picture of these, but you can do a quick online search. Cut these as close to the leaves of your garlic plant as possible. You can make pesto out of the scapes or use them in your cooking. Cutting them off allows for the plant to put more energy into producing bigger bulbs. Stiff-necked varieties produce scapes. Soft neck typically do not.
Around July, the leaves of your plants will start to die. This is completely normal no matter how much you water the plants. When around half of the leaves have died off, that is when you will want to harvest your garlic. We harvested some of ours with only one dead leaf. The rest we harvested after more had died off. We didn’t notice any difference in the size of our cloves.
Lay all of your garlic on a table in the shade of your yard to help the skins toughen up– anywhere out of direct sunlight and off of the ground. After a couple of days of this, you will want to hang them up for three or more weeks until they completely dry. Leave the leaves on your plant so that the bulbs can continue absorbing from them. Scott grouped ours in groups of five to six hanging from the garage rafters. You want them to hang in a dry place out of direct sunlight.
We had an abnormally wet July, and let our plants hang for closer to 4 weeks to get them completely dry. Once the bulb and necks are hard and dry, your garlic is ready to be stored. I wish I had faux-braided mine this year, but I didn’t think of it until it was too late. When you are ready to store your garlic, you want to trim the neck down. We left a little over one inch on the neck of our bulbs. Then, you want to trim all of the roots off. Using a dry cloth or soft brush, clean any remaining dirt off of the bulbs. If you have any that have been damaged, you do not want to store those. We broke off the good cloves from our damaged bulbs and have been using them first.
Believe it or not, there are close to 90 heads of garlic in that basket!
Yesterday was our first day of school! I can’t even believe summer break is over. How did it go so quickly?
Chloe is in the sixth grade this year and is doing Abeka Academy. She wants to be an astronaut. (Also a chef, fashion designer, etc. depending on the day you ask.)
Addi is in fourth grade this year and is doing Abeka Academy. She wants to be a teacher and a mom when she grows up.
Harper is in first grade this year and we are doing the Good and the Beautiful curriculum for the first time. She wants to be a librarian when she grows up.
This is how Addi and Harper really wanted their first day of school pictures to be. HAHA! Perhaps these should be the framers..
Homeschooling has been such a gift through all of these years. I can’t even believe that this is my seventh year of homeschooling these kids! Harper was a newborn that first year. I remember feeling so overwhelmed and afraid that I was going to fail. Now, I see three vibrant and intelligent young ladies that often outwit me.
I know that many people are considering homeschooling this year. I am always happy to answer any questions that you may have.
Last month, we did our first ever Azure Standard order and pickup. I shared our experience and the few things that we ordered. We ended up liking it all so much that we ordered again. This month, we did a big order, and don’t plan to do any pickup next month. We are trying to replace our former ingredients with healthier options. Since we were getting low on all purpose flour and sugar, we replaced those with Kamut flour and organic cane sugar. Small steps make such a difference over time.
I thought I would share what we got this month. I always like seeing what other families buy, and what it’s used for. Is this something that you all enjoy also? Before I start, please don’t fall into some comparison trap. This was a BIG order. We try to use some of work bonuses to stock up on groceries so that we don’t have to buy as much during the normal times. This is not going to be a typical order for our family any time soon.
25 pound bag of Kamut Flour— this is an ancient grain that can be used in place of all purpose flour. It has much more health benefits and is apparently easier to digest for people who are gluten intolerant. 25 pound bag of organic cane sugar— sugar, just a better option with less processing A2/A2 yogurt— the A2 protein in this milk is apparently easier to digest than A1. I am curious, so we are going to try it out. We have a kid with a milk protein allergy that she has mostly outgrown, but she still does have some trouble. 5 pound bag of steel cut outs— I love steel cut outs. They have a different texture than flakes. 5 pound bag of bread flour— I am going to try out making bagels! 5 pound bag of basmati rice— we cook a lot of rice! 4 pound tub of palm fruit shortening— this is a MUCH healthier option when shortening or crisco are called for in recipes. 64 ounce jar of coconut oil— One of our favorite oils to use 32 ounce bottle of olive oil— again, another favorite 2 pound bottle of honey— I love using raw honey in tea, and sometimes in baking. 6 20 oz bottles of ketchup— We use so much ketchup in this house. So much. I know. 1 pound of garlic— garlic is so good. That is all. 13 ounce jar of ghee— I love using ghee on toast. It’s another great option for those who struggle with digesting milk protein. 24 string cheeses— The kids love these and they were on sale. I figured it would be a fun surprise. 2- 5 pound blocks of raw white cheddar cheese— We go through a lot of cheese. Yum. 6 pound block of mozzarella— This gets used for our lasagna and homemade pizzas. Gardeners Lemon Bar Soap— It smells so good! 4- 1 gallon jars and lids— These fit the five pound bags of rice/flour/oats/etc. perfectly. Since mice are an issue on the farm, I like to keep everything in glass containers or food grade plastic buckets.
Buying ingredients in bulk has saved our family a lot of money, and a lot of trips to the grocery store. This obviously was a massive food haul– certainly not the typical for us, as I said. This should last us several months. I am still very pleased with Azure’s quality and the ease of the process. Our pickup date and time did change again– which ended up being nice for me because Scott had to lift the 200 pounds into the vehicle. We also were able to get some pallets for free this time– perfect for projects that we have going on around the farm.
If you are interested in checking out Azure Standard, I’d really appreciate you using my personalized link. You can also just go to AzureStandard.com and enter the code AshleyPullen1 . Unfortunately, there isn’t any benefit to you, but it does give my family $25 once you order $100 in groceries. We appreciate the support. You will also get your own link to share once you sign up. Once you start shopping, some items give you “azure cash” to put towards your future orders.
Let me know if you give them a try or have any questions. I’d be happy to answer to the best of my ability.
I feel so incredibly blessed because I’ve been able to try a brand new product to share with you. I have partnered up with Moms Meet again to share Kyo-Dophilus Pro+ Synbiotic. This is a brand new prebiotic and probiotic in one (Synbiotic)! Combining these two powerhouses creates an incredible tool for gut health!
I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com) to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.
I know that I have mentioned prebiotics, probiotics and the importance of gut health so many times that I may sound like a broken record. But, I am SUCH a believer in the benefits of prebiotics and probiotics. My entire family takes daily probiotics along with our multivitamin. If I had to give one or the other up, I’d give up the vitamin in a heartbeat. I am dedicated to the probiotics!
I feel so much better if I regularly take a probiotic. If my kids skip their probiotics, they end up sick so much more often. We all love them. Wellness has become such a focus over the last year for many families, and I ALWAYS say to start with your gut. Heal and take care of your gut! Your whole body will thank you.
**As we grow older, our gut microbiotic community changes. Levels of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus decline. These are known to help maintain gut health and immunity. They also help with a healthy inflammatory response. According to researched published in Journal of the American College of Nutrition, by supplementing, you can help to restore those levels! Who doesn’t want to “turn back the clock” to a time when their bodies were healthier? On top of that, supplementing can help reduce infections caught during hospital stays, help reduce allergic responses from common allergens, and help ease symptoms from the common cold! You can read more about all of this at www.probiotics.com.
Now, on to the specifics of Kyo-Dophilus Pro+ Synbiotic! These come pre-packaged in individual packets. Inside each packet are two berry smoothie flavored chewable tablets. Because I am to give an HONEST review, they do taste a bit chalky, so be forewarned. They are not horrible but it is not like drinking a smoothie. 😉 You can take them without a meal, which is great. It’s best to stick to a routine and take them at the same time each day. Chewing can send signals to your brain that help with feelings of fullness. Chew slowly and really soak it up.
Kyo-Dophilus Pro+ Synbiotic is Non-GMO, and soy/gluten/dairy free as well as being free of artificial colors and flavors. HALLELUJAH! It has been clinically studied and documented, so you know that they aren’t making baseless claims.
Since Pro+ Synbiotic is a combined prebiotic and probiotic, you get all of the benefits in these chewable tablets. The prebiotics pave the way and help make it so that the probiotics can do their job more efficiently. That is obviously over-simplifying it all, but that’s the best way to understand. Prebiotics roll out the red carpet.
My personal take on Kyo-Dophilus Pro+ synbiotic is that I love it. I really appreciate how easy it is to just grab and go. I love that it is a two-in one, so it eliminates the need to purchase one more product. Also, they don’t need to be refrigerated. As a mom of three, fridge space is a precious commodity, and I am thankful to not have to keep these in the fridge. My favorite thing is that it helps to eliminate my stomach pains. I have had a lot of stomach problems for years. Most foods cause a lot of bloating and pain for me, and it’s miserable. I started taking these when I was incredibly uncomfortable and could not figure out the cause. I still don’t know the cause, but taking Pro+ has helped me feel so much better.
If you are interested in trying Kyo-Dophilus Pro+ Synbiotic, you can go here and find a store near you. Any time you switch to a new probiotic, you can have some gas and bloating while your body adjusts. I did not have that problem, but I do want you to be aware that it is a possibility in case it happens to you.
Kyo-Dophilus has probiotics formulated for every age from infants up. They also have products specifically formulated for urinary tract health, nutrient digestion, and even for those 50+! It’s really nice to be able to focus on specific concerns that you may have with your body. You know your body best. If you want to take a quiz and see which product would best suit your needs, you can do that with this link.
**disclaimer– these studies were conducted by independent researchers and presented for educational purpose only. The subject products of the studies may be classified as dietary supplements in the US. Those dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.Always talk to your doctor.
I have heard about Azure Standard for years from various youtube channels that I watch or from people in groups that I am a part of. Everyone was always raving about how great it was. I was always curious about it, but never looked at their website. I would say that I’m a skeptic by nature. I assumed that it was going to be really complicated and overpriced. No, thanks. Not for me.
Last year, I started buying more items in bulk. Less grocery store trips always mean less impulse purchases. Plus, we cook all of our meals at home. Many of whaI cook is made from scratch, so we go through a lot of things like flour, sugar, butter, etc. After hearing how much could be saved on healthy foods by buying in bulk through Azure, I decided to FINALLY check it out. I was quickly shocked at the variety of products and sizes available on the site, and placed my first order. Here’s what I thought.
To back up a bit, Azure Standard is an online co-op for buying groceries. You can buy bulk sizes, or smaller amounts of your favorite foods. Most of them are organic foods. There are many more options of flours and grains than you can find in the grocery store. Our local area has a drop once a month. The co-op has to reach five hundred dollars in sales for them to actually deliver to our area. Not $500 per person, but for the entire group. When you search for a drop near you, it will show you the location, date, and time of your pick up. It will also let you know the last day that you can place an order.
Once you place your order, you can add to or delete items from it up to about five days before your order pick up date is scheduled. It’s nice to have a whole month to add items that we run out of or change my mind if I decide I don’t want something, or if the budget has to tighten up. How often do you buy something from the store on impulse, and quickly regret it when you see how much you’ve spent. This really helps you stick to your budget because you can see exactly what your price will be. You know if you can afford to add that box of cookies, or if you need to put it back.
I am not a fan of new things like this, to be honest. I like to know exactly what to expect, or I start to feel really anxious. I wasn’t sure how it would work or how smoothly things would run. I was pleasantly surprised. It was so simple. The semi truck was parked in the lot with our group members parked at the back end. The drivers of the truck quickly unloaded our drop goods. Each package has the person’s name on a sticker on it, and they sort everything out for you. You just confirm that you have the right amount of parcels, load it in your car, and be on your way. It took maybe five minutes from the time I got out of my car to the time I drove away. You also have the option of asking for pallets for free if they have any. I could see that our drivers didn’t have any since we were the first delivery of the day. Eight in the morning. Ouch. But, next time I hope to snag some!
Here is everything that I ordered: 6 inch beeswax candles- count of six 4 One gallon wide mouth glass jars 4 lids (that fit gallon sized jugs.. not jars.. oops) 9 ounce organic Peppermint white chocolate chips 1 pound ground medium arabica coffee 12 ounce squeezable maple syrup (I plan to wash and refill this from a larger jug later.) 5 lb organic white basmati rice Peelu Peppermint Xylitol chewing gum (100 ct.) 2 lb raw clover honey 5 lb frozen sliced organic bananas
I also ordered 5 lbs of sharp raw cheddar cheese and a 25 pound bag of kamut flour, but those went out of stock and did not ship. HUGE bummer!
Everything looks so good. I am really impressed so far. I also am already working on our order for next month! I really hope the flour and cheese stay in stock for me this time. Each month, there are different items on sale. I got a March sales flyer in my order so that I can see exactly what has a lower price.
The two big downsides were the out of stock items and our time changing. Our drop is supposed to be a different day in the late afternoon. The week of your drop, you get an e-mail with the schedule. Ours changed to a different day and time. So, you may need to have someone that is available to pick up for you should your scheduled time not work out. Our drop coordinator is willing to pick up items and schedule a different pickup if it doesn’t work for anyone.
Also, some of the name brand items can end up being cheaper at your local grocery store through sales and coupons. So, be sure to keep an eye on it. The goal is to save money for me, and I’m not interested in wasting any.
Overall, I am really impressed by the store itself and the whole process and am excited to order again. If you want to check out the website and possibly place your own order, check it out here!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment or send me an e-mail. I will answer them to the best of my ability.
While this post is not a sponsored post, the links shared are referral links. This does not cost you anything extra. However, should you order $100 or more during your time with Azure, I will receive a $25 credit. My family and I are so grateful for the support we receive from the blog. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hi, my friends. I have been planning to share a post about what we are planting in our garden this year along with where we ordered our seeds from. Looking forward to the hope of Spring.
That post is going on hold and I’ll share it soon. Today has been rough. I went out to feed the chickens and let them out of the coop this morning, just like I do every day that Scott leaves for work at 4 AM. While I was filling up their food, I kept thinking about how odd it was that they were so quiet. Surely they weren’t still sleeping. I was late in getting out there.
I opened the coop door, and their bodies were everywhere. I wrestled the door open and immediately started sobbing. I remember saying over and over “what happened?” and counting them. Surely one survived, right? Not one single chicken made it. I thought maybe a rooster went crazy and killed them all and ended up dying also. Now that I’ve had time to investigate, we are pretty confident that a weasel got in and killed them all.
You guys, all of our beautiful chickens are gone. My mind can’t seem to process.. I’ve cleaned some of the mess up, but still have more to do. I still have to tell my kids. I know that this is part of homesteading life. These are the hard lessons that we have to live. But, I really, really hoped that we wouldn’t lose every single one in one swift motion. It feels so cruel.
I am THAT person who laughs hysterically watching them hop through the snow because they don’t like their feet touching it. I cheerfully tell them good morning. I say thank you every time I get an egg as though they understand. I excitedly go feed them mealworms and food scraps. My mom got me a “crazy chicken lady” shirt for Christmas that I proudly wear.
To look on the bright side, because I can’t camp in the heartbreak, we have everything we need for new chicks. If we get them this month, they will start laying in the summer. Our hens gave us over three hundred eggs in January. (We had 13 hens.) We have time while babies grow to fix the coop and find the problem.
Today, I am so devastated. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that. But, we aren’t giving up on this homestead dream.
I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I feel so blessed entering this year.
Scott had two blissful weeks off, and it was so nice to have time together. I still had to work, but it was SO nice to not be passing ships. We got projects done, baked a lot of cookies, and set goals for this year. We also read a lot.
I have been pretty quiet on here. I have just been keeping my head down and working my way through each day. I felt like I was drowning by early December. The break from school and our usual routine was so good for my soul. My cup went from bone dry to overflowing.
I shared in November that we got our first egg. We are currently getting anywhere from 7 to 11 eggs per day! Our Easter Egger hens started laying, which was basically the most exciting thing ever. Harper, our little helper, has always wanted to help collect eggs. Now, she won’t pick them up if they aren’t green or blue. ha!
There is an egg brand that sells a carton of eggs these colors for EIGHT DOLLARS! Just because ONE blue or green egg will be inside. I think we may sell a few cartons soon, but certainly not for that price. We want to be able to build a better run for the chickens, and that would help us save up for it.
The weight of the snow and ice has the top “roof” of chicken wire collapsing. We never expected it to last, but we were “building a parachute on the way down” (as Jill Winger says) and did what we were able to at the time. It’s been a lot of fun to learn.
We are back at homeschooling, and going to celebrate our HUNDREDTH day of school next week. We are still trucking along with our ABEKA curriculum. I am going to be doing something different for one of the girls next year to help meet her needs better. I’m really excited about it.
We are way ahead of schedule, which will be PERFECT for gardening season. Most of our seeds are ordered and ready to be started in the next few months. If you start seeds, I suggest ordering ASAP. Some companies have had to put a hold on orders to catch up. Many varieties are already selling out.
We have challenged ourselves to spend 1000 hours outside this year. That averages out to almost three hours a day outside. It’s harder on the bitter cold and boiling hot days. We hope to camp much more this year, which will certainly pad our hours. Addi said she hopes we can camp in three states that we’ve never camped in before. I hope so, too, kid.
Also, I read a devotion to the girls each day at lunch time. We are just days away from finishing Indescribable. It’s on sale right now. I learned so much from it, and the kids really enjoyed it. This one has been suggested to me, and I think I’m going to order it. Also, this one for the New Testament. We will be able to dig in so much deeper to Scripture with this one. I’m also thinking about ordering this book for myself.
I love a new year (new month, new week, etc.) I am always grateful for the fresh start. Happy 2021!
 to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links. I know that I have mentioned prebiotics, probiotics and the importance of gut health so many times that I may sound like a broken record. I am SUCH a believer in the benefits of prebiotics and probiotics. My entire family takes daily prebiotics and probiotics along with our multivitamin. If I had to give one or the other up, I'd give up the vitamin in a heartbeat. I am dedicated to the probiotics! I feel so much better if I regularly take a probiotic. If my kids skip their probiotics, they end up sick so much more often. Wellness has become such a focus over the last year, especially, and I ALWAYS say to start with your gut. Heal and take care of your gut! Your whole body will thank you. This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is pro.jpg **As we grow older, our gut microbiotic community changes. Levels of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus decline. These are known to help maintain gut health and immunity. They also help with a healthy inflammatory response. According to researched published in Journal of the American College of Nutrition, by supplementing, you can help to restore those levels! Who doesn't want to "turn back the clock" to a time when their bodies were healthier? On top of that, supplementing can help reduce infections caught during hospital stays, help reduce allergic responses from common allergens, and help ease symptoms from the common cold! You can read more about all of this at www.probiotics.com. Now, on to the specifics of Kyo-Dophilus Pro+ Synbiotic! These come pre-packaged in individual packets. Inside each packet are two berry smoothie flavored chewable tablets. Because I am to give an HONEST review, they do taste a bit chalky, so be forewarned. They are not horrible but it's not like drinking a smoothie. ;) You can take them without a meal, which is great. It's best to stick to a routine and take them at the same time each day. Chewing can send signals to your brain that help with feelings of fullness. Chew slowly and really soak it up. This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is kyo-dophilus.jpg **disclaimer-- these studies were conducted by independent researchers and presented for educational purpose only. The subject products of the studies may be classified as dietary supplements in the US. Those dietary supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.){kind=link}