Sowing Seeds

These are a few buckeyes we found nestled composted leaves underneath a horse chestnut tree. We took several home and sowed them, and now we have little trees growing!!

When the snow still insulated the ground, I bought a green notebook and pulled out my garden books. January might not be a good time to plant a garden, but it is an excellent time to plan one! And now that it is the end of April, I have begun to seriously put some of those plans into action.

We are in a somewhat garden-limbo because we are not yet moved to our own homestead yet. (Currently, we rent a spot on my parents' property.) We are expecting to be on our own property soon, so I definitely don't want to plant a permanent garden here. I was blessed with strawberry and raspberry plants, which I replanted into containers and have already set outside.

I've waited as long as I possible can to start seeds, but I can't wait any longer or risk my growing season being too short. My amazing husband agreed to me buying a "greenhouse" container ($7 at Wal-Mart) in which to start seeds. Today, I opened up my heirloom seed packets and began sowing them in the greenhouse container. Yippee!

I planted a variety of vegetables, but mostly the ones that have a longer growing season. These are the seed varieties I planted today:

-Black Krim tomatoes
-Kootenai tomatoes
-Early Jalapeño peppers
-Red & Green Lettuce
-Eggplant
-Scarlet Emperor Bean
-Summer Squash
-Jarrahdale Squash Pumpkin

Look at this beautiful strawberry plant! It's starting to get flowers, which will in turn produce-- STRAWBERRIES!

Yum, yum! I LOVE the garden season. Sowing the seeds is exciting because I anticipate what I will be eating mid to late Summer or early Fall. When we reach our last frost date, I will sow more seed varieties directly into the ground.

Oh, Jesus! Please bless our efforts and vive the increase in our garden. I know You are the Giver of life to all creatures and plant forms. Thank You for creating good things for us to eat and for the amazing process these plants go through to produce food for us. I am so grateful for Your provision, and I know that You will use this garden's produce to supply our needs. Please give us an abundance so that we might share with neighbors and strangers. Thank You, Lord. Amen.

God's blessings on your endeavors,
~Raquel

Written: April 22, 2016

I am Mommy

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there-- both biological mothers and spiritual mothers!

My day was so blessed with my sweet little family. I am honored and DELIGHTED to be my baby girl's mama.

Here's our Mother's Day 2016 in pictures:

We walked and laughed through the "Healing Garden."

The strawberry plants were huge!

Rose and heart shaped landscaping

Abigail talking to the frog

I loved these flowers!

She found a friend. :-)

A chapel in the middle of the garden.

And a fairy garden in the gardens.

You know it was a good day when your feet look like this afterward....

I hope you were able to enjoy your day and all that Christ has created.

Be blessed in His love,
~Raquel

Written: May 9, 2016

Don't Count Your Chickens Before they Hatch

Do you ever feel like God is trying to teach you a lesson by redundancy? Where it seems events that happen in a short period of time are teaching you the same message-- over and over and over again?

Yeah.... I'm learning not to count my chickens before they hatch.

Take my little Miss, for example. She wanted to catch this chicken.

At first, it seemed the hen was going to let Abigail close to her. Abigail toddled her way closer. Ah-ha! The hen ran further away. Then, Abigail and a friend knelt down to coax the hen closer. The hen came closer, and closer, and closer-- even touching Abigail's hand and then ran rapidly away.

Abigail never caught that chicken, but she sure thought she was going to!

The Aunties were expecting these kids a couple of weeks ago.

And the same goes for me.... Several scenarios have recently happened where I thought, expected, and planned for something particular to happen. And then.... it didn't, or it didn't go the way I had thought, expected, and planned! You might say it's just part of the spice of life, but sometimes, it can be disappointing, too.

It took them a little bit longer, but they finally came!

Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

Scripture explains it in a different way in James 4:13-15 (KJV),

"Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, IF the Lord will, we shall live and do this, or that."

Brand new babies! Isn't it nice when hope is realized?

We can make plans in faith and hope, but we also must be thankful and content for that which we already have. The Lord's will shall be done His way will be accomplished. I need only just in Him, knowing that His mercy and goodness are following me. What encouragement when we struggle with disappointment because of "unhatched chickens."

The Lord has definitely blessed me, and He knows what is best for me. If He wills it, it will be done. If it is the direction my life needs to take, it will happen. I trust in Him completely.

These kids have absolute trust in their parent. Do you trust in your Father?

He has also given me an honorable husband, ordained to lead our family and bear the responsibility of difficult decisions. I do not have to worry for "the ones that didn't hatch"-- what do I do now? where do I go from here? what are the implications of this situation?-- because the Lord has given me a husband to lean on. I am blessed to have a position of peace and quiet, while my husband has to carry the burden of (sometimes tough) decision making.

I encourage you to not be discouraged if circumstances in your life do not go as you expected. A better plan is in store for you.

Lean on the Father and keep the faith,
~Raquel

Written: April 21, 2016

Written: April 21, 2016