Peace

This day was amazing as it started out with a hike with friends and family!

"You will go out in joy

    and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

    will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

    will clap their hands."

~Isaiah 55:12~

Awesome temperature! Beautiful morning!
Inspiring!

We have been wanting to do a hike for quite some time and today was the day!  WOW, oh WOW, am I sure glad we did!  Laura and Mayda met me at what is called "Bead Mountain."  It's right here in our neck of the woods.  We met there and began our hike at a wonderful 56*!!

Oh, the views!

God!

Can't you just imagine the ole' wagon trail passing through on the Oregon Trail?

Friends!  We made it to the top!

After our hike, it was off to work!  So grateful that we made time for these moments.  Such great memories shared with friends.  Nothing can replace the time spent in God's country with people that you love.  Part of my job today was to recycle our broken refrigerator.  I knew exactly where I would go when Heath mentioned it.  Langer Industrial, my client.  It is so fun in my job because I get to know people and their services right here in our own town!  This gentleman is from Kansas and you can tell that he is passionate about what he does.  If you ever need recycling here in the Scottsbluff area, I would highly recommend Langer Industrial on the corner of the Beltline and 5th Avenue.

That big HUGE claw is squishing our fridge at the moment!

Lunch and then packed a picnic for tonight!

Nothing like fresh corn on the cob!

Garry and Me

My father-in-law loves tractor pulls, so I invited him as soon as I found out about the county fair pull!  We met at the park in Mitchell and had our picnic, complete with a piece of chokecherry pie.  He is very fond of this particular dessert, especially when the berries are in season!  We had an absolutely lovely evening with the best seats in the house.  We sat at the '50 yard line' of a tractor pull at the very top, middle.  Great breeze from the back and awesome views.  Thankful for this bonding time with Garry!

If you have never been to a pull, I would highly recommend it.  Take ear plugs and plan on having a really fun evening!

A Day's Work

Sarah Young's Jesus Calling Devotional
I am clinging to this message!

The cutest little individual sized cantaloupe, creamed peas
and potatoes, and mixed green salad.

Kendra's celebration birthday party at work!  It was really nice!  We work with such an awesome team!

Have you ever made macaroni salad!?  It's kind of a new awesome thing in my life!
Fresh watermelon, tomatoes, and beet tops!  Oh, and of course, BACON!!

Today's Harvest!  *Bountiful Blessings*

After a long day's work at work and on the farm, we retired to the amazing
hot tub under the stars!

Sunday

Sunday mornings Heath makes me breakfast in bed.  It is amazing and I do not take it for granted!  How special I feel!  :)

Today, steel cut oats, farm fresh eggs, and hot tea in bed!

I went out for eggs today and this is all I found!
BUT, on the bright side, this probably means one
of the young girls is starting to lay!

!HOT! Peppers and Cucumbers

Cucumber, basil, lime infused water!

We had pork chops tonight for supper!  Something we don't often have.  What a treat!
I also made creamed peas and potatoes from our garden!

Quick Side Note:  Have you heard of something called Marco Polo, an app on your phone?!  It's crazy awesome!  Whitney had asked me to download it quite a while ago.  Not knowing what it was or making the time to download it, I didn't do it until she asked me again recently.  Wow, am I glad that she pursued me to get this app!  I would say it is some sort of a combination between FaceTime and texting.  You get the flexibility similar to texting so your recipient can check it at their convenience, but it is a video so you can actually see them!  It is great!  This has brought all five of us girls from high school back together.  I have been able to meet their kids and see parts of their homes.  You get to enter into their lives.  We all know how hard it is to connect these days even with all this technology.  With this, you don't have to find a time for both parties to meet (and make a phone/FaceTime call), but you can send a video message when you have a free moment and the recipient can then do the same.  It is really neat and makes you feel very connected.  I have also been able to connect with a friend who moved away and we have so much fun!  Great accountability and helps you feel like you live closer together!

This app is an awesome way to
connect when you have time!

SLEEPOVER!

Yummy breakfast!  Yellow and red beet slices and an egg omelet with sour cream and fresh herbs!

BOUNTIFUL Basket of Bright Lights Swiss Chard

As it started out, I was planning to head to Torrington for a sleepover however, throughout the day our plans changed a bit.  It's God's Plan, not ours!  Mo and Truett ended up coming over to our house since they were going to be in town anyway!  It was really awesome because Heath then got see them too!  (Also, Truett had really been wanting to have a sleep over "upstairs" and then go swimming in the hot tub.  So.....we did!)

Individual ~ size cantaloupe!

Buddies!

~ Sharing a Lovely Family Meal ~

THEN...enjoying the ice cream from Daddy!  It's his favorite from Schwann's!
Black cherry yogurt!

What a great way to fellowship with great friends.  There is something about gathering around a kitchen table with wholesome, fresh, homegrown food that is so nourishing to the soul both physically and emotionally.  It fills a very big need to nourish our physical body to be strong and be able to work while at the same time it is fulfilling to the soul to know all of the hard work, time, and dedication it took to raise up that food from the farm to our forks!  Blessed!  Thank you Lord for constantly reminding me how blessed we really are.  I love being able to recognize these blessings and it is through my time in the Word that these blessings become more visible.

Delightful! Savor the Moments!

Sarah Young's Jesus Calling Devotion

Grilled zucchini, green chili egg casserole (thanks to it freezing well), English Breakfast tea.
A delightful breakfast and morning!

Bountiful, Bountiful, Bountiful!

Yellow Beets in the amazing InstaPot

African Basket with Swiss Chard

Left to Right:  acorn squash, white ace, lemon cucumbers (front and center),
yellow zucchini in back right corner!

Bountiful Harvest!

Clockwise from top left:  green beans, chokecherries, peas, sugar snap peas.

The furry children are getting SO big!  They look forward to their twice a day
"gravy" (aka water over their kitten food).  They are so used to seeing me twice
a day from when they were babies and had to have their antibiotics morning and night.
There is one mama/aunt here, three bigger babies, and five smaller babies.

This little sweet thing is sooooo FLUFFY!  She is very much so long haired!

The Morning Glory is beginning to reach out!  We had one of these before and it totally took
over.  I think this is so awesome how it is wrapping around the old school desk.
Front:  Stevia plant.

I found this picture tucked away in a drawer and it is now sitting on my desk!
Lake Travis ~ a place we frequented alot while living in Texas!

Processing Veggies

This AMAZING machine called a FOOD SAVER was a gift from Bill, Alicia, and the kids for our wedding back in 2014!  We have used and used and used this thing!  We have three different types of bags which all have a different purpose.  For the more moist foods such as zucchini, carrots, green beans (after they have been blanched), the press and seal bags work well that you use the accessory tool to suck the air out of a special spot in the corner.  Then, for the dryer stuff like peppers, squash, and tomatoes (I don't blanch them) the pre-made bags work or even the roll.  I really like the roll because you can tailor make the bag to fit your product!  Then, you use the actual machine to suck the air out and then it seals the top (and bottom if creating your own bag)!

*Plant * Water * Weed * Pick * Wash * Process * Bag * Label * Freeze * Repeat until Winter *

*ENJOY ALL WINTER!!*

Bunches and bunches of peppers!

And shredded zucchini in roughly 2 cup portions!
Yellow and green make it *c*o*l*o*r*f*u*l*!

Life Abundant

This is hanging in my home office.  It is a great reminder for me and it specifically spoke to me this morning.  "They are new every morning!!!!!"
Photo Credit:  these are Heath's favorite flower (and color) -- Columbines

Ate lunch and visited with my client who is living her dream!
She has recently opened her own restaurant!
Mexican Food and Indian Fry Bread.
Oh, the stories, such wonderful fellowship!
A great woman of God!

I stopped by Tricia's LIVE remote at First
National Bank this afternoon.  It was fun!

Meanwhile, back on the farm....Petey is gorgeous and spread for me (as he does every night for his girls - chickens)!
He is so beautifully and wonderfully made!  I wonder what God had in mind while creating a peacock and then while creating a guinea
(no offense, but the peacock is GORGEOUS and the guinea....well, not so gorgeous but both are excellent 'watch - birds'). Grateful for both!