Back to the health kick for a bit. Renaissance Man is now down 25 lbs and is in awe that he has lost what amounts to what our toddler weighs! He could still lose just a few more and then my guess is he will stabilize and just maintain the weightloss. The towers he had been working on was his workout routine as he was constantly lifting or moving hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds of steel all day, so no need to go to a gym. The work finally got shipped, so now it'll be calm for a little and then yard work and farming start up, so more physical work. As long as he stays physical the weight will stay off.
He continues to be a very good boy and doesn't fuss at anything I feed him! Our routine continues to be the same every morning - eggs with anything green in the frying pan, mixed with onions or some other vegetable. Once in awhile, I'm nice and throw in bacon or sausage, then I'm his favourite. Sometimes he snacks in the morning, cheese and apples or a handful of popcorn as he walks by, but then for lunch it's always a salad with some protein or soup. Maybe a small snack in the afternoon, or even just a coffee or tea. Then dinner, always a protein, always a salad, never gluten in any form anymore, maybe a small amount of brown rice or rice noodles, or something with potato, but never the piles of noodles or mashed potatoes he used to have. He can refill his plate countless times with salad and though that doesn't sound appealing, he does it and feels full! Last night we had tacos, so he and I both made a taco salad while the kids stuffed their food into the actual shells. We just avoid the extra carbs when we can. He feels like a million bucks. He walks around lighter and with less pain. His clothes are swimming on him, but no time to shop. He'll go once he's lost what he wants to lose. Even certain suppliers who haven't seen him in awhile or asking what's going on with him!
Meanwhile, I was busy on the weekend going to gardening courses and meeting with people that run an organic gardening business. I brought most of the children to the first place where we met the people who run the organic gardening business and only the oldest boys to the actual course. Both places were so inspiring. It makes me so excited to think that this is a way I can bless my family and save us tons of money as well as feed my family healthily all through the year. I get quite overwhelmed by the idea because in so many ways, I don't know where to start, but I think I just have to dive in.
Both gardens were able to feed their households without going to buy many, if any, vegetables, or even fruit, all year. ALL YEAR!!!! Can you imagine that? That means they also do a ton of canning or freezing. This also overwhelms me, but again, gets me excited. The first gardening center is run by a Christian woman and she showed me her root cellar and where she stores all her jars. It was oddly just like my house in that we do have a place that could easily be turned into a root cellar. It has the dirt floor and everything, which she said, for some reason is good! I have tons of land that could be turned into a ridiculously large garden. When I asked her how much should I plant, she said, "Go crazy! Be overwhelmed!" I told her that is often how RM and I go about life. We tend to jump into things we know nothing about and then figure it out as we go along. "Perfect!" she said. "We often bought the animals before we had the fences!" "Oh, that's us, too," I said. Which is true. When we first got our cows, no joke, RM was still pounding fence posts almost as the cows pulled in.....so this lady was just who I needed to talk to. Drowning is bad, of course, but sometimes, when the water is coming over your head, you are forced into learning how to swim!
Having my children alongside me at her farm was such an encouragement to her and to myself. I realized they were just as interested in learning about gardening as I was. She spent more time talking to them then to me it seemed! She was thrilled to see their interest and kept telling them all sorts of things to get their gardens going. I realized what a huge asset, once again, that my children are becoming to me. I don't need to feel overwhelmed - I've got lots of helpers. She has to bring in "woofers", which are like an intern. I have my own woofers!
Now, if Spring will just come! It is still quite cold. I'm excited to get a garden going. I planted one last year, but it kind of stunk. I got some vegetables, but no where near what I thought I would get. I was extremely overwhelmed by weeds and rain. I certainly had nothing left over to can, ha! That would have been something.
I did do some grape jelley and grape juice as we have 23 rows of concord grapes on our property. That's such a blessing to us. We also have quite a few apple trees and even a couple cherry trees as well. We just need to start planting more fruit trees. That was her greatest encouragement to us.....plant, plant, plant.
I quickly turn to Ezekiel again for encouragement. Read this awesome passage in chapter 34:27,
"And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them."
Everything I want is in that verse! I want to see our land yield fruit! I want to be safe! I want to have the bands of our yoke broken and I want to be delivered!
The Bible talks about gardens and freedom in the very same verse. Wow. Always it says, that they "shall know that I am in the Lord." He even wants me to see Him in my garden and anything that comes up will not be because of my hand, but His.
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