Summer on the Homestead is always a special time of the year. Everything is in full bloom. The Earth seems to sing with praise to our creator. The creatures have the fat of the land. Our milk cow has been giving the most rich and beautiful milk and we are ever flowing in the land of Milk and Honey!
Each morning we gather up the fresh milk and carefully strain it, cool it, and bottle it up. We only milk our cow one time per day and she gives us 3 gallons of the sweetest, creamiest milk! We are so thankful! Our cups literally are overflowing!
If I am in a hurry, I also water bath them, for 30 minutes. That is IF I did not cook the sauce for several hours. You must never do this hot pack method with insufficiently cooked ingredients because it will go bad and all your work will be for nothing.
I cooked this batch plenty long enough, so I was able to turn the HOT jars upside down for sealing. They seal wonderfully and can be stored in my root cellar. What a blessing. This year we were able to bottle up about 70 quarts total so far! I use my sauce for all kinds of meals for my family, like spaghetti, chili soup, Mexican and Italian dishes, pizza, and tomato soups. It is every bit of a blessing that carries through the entire year!
Other wonderful things about this summer…We recently were able to bring our son to the SON of GOD! Mikey was so touched by the healing of God’s hand to his broken Heart that he gave his whole heart back to God. It is a double miracle. My husband was so thankful to bring his son to the water to baptize him in the likeness of Christ! He showed the world that he was buried with Christ and as he rose from the waters, he rose to LIFE in Christ. No better news than that! We are so thankful!
ARE we moving?That is the question we all ask. Not at this time. It is one of those things where we count our chickens before they are hatched and we find out that it was not the right timing. I think it causes us to trust God more with all the little steps of our paths. We are learning to be content just where we are and we patiently wait for the Lord’s leading. We have WAY more than we deserve and LIFE is RICH with all the things that matter most. I have everything I will ever need gathered around my table each day!
5 thoughts on “Summer on the Homestead”
Good to hear from you again was thinking about you all ;o)
what another lovely blog. So full of family love and unity. At least it’s warm weather for Mikey’s dunking in the creek:) Well done mate!! The grass looks so nice and green and the chooks look very happy eating all the tomato scraps. Here it’s the middle of winter so I have been sprouting wheat for the chooks , cracked corn and sunflower seeds as a treat. Your table looks so nice all set up for tea, and the tomato preserving in the jars is such a great way to have it all year. Keep up your beautiful blogs sister. xxoo Vicki
I’m always glad when you post, Erin. You’re full of encouragement and blessing for others! It’s been almost 2 years ago since our visit to your family. I’ll always be thankful for the brief time we spent together. Love you all!
Your love for your family and for God just scream from the words of this post!
So great to see the wonderful blessing the Lord has made in your lives.?? It is good to see happiness and contentment!