Just had to share a quick funny for you to enjoy today.
I was in the middle of something and at the same time was telling my kitchen helper what to put in the bowl to make pizza dough. Friday Night Pizza Night, you know.
I told her, “2 cups of warm water and 1/4 cup oil and I’ll be right back.” I went upstairs for a quick minute and came back down to hear her cheerfully say, “Two cups of water and two cups of oil, done.”
Uh oh.
That’s a lot of extra oil…My first thought was, well, we gotta start over. But I hate throwing food away…
When life gives you extra oil…make extra pizza dough!
Good thing we have this gigantic bowl at our house! (Right, Steph)
40 cups of flour later… (good thing I buy flour in 50 pound bags)
Hey, now we have 8 weeks of pizza dough! There was a time in my life when I would have gotten angry over this. I was still annoyed at the start, don’t get me wrong. But God is good and never stops refining me. Today I just went with it and had fun with the kids in the midst of it.
Looking for the good in every situation sure makes a difference in how our days go!
Andrew and I were driving home Saturday night from house church and we were talking about what we’d learned. One thing that always amazes us is how our leader can correlate different passages in the Old and New Testaments. I mentioned I have a hard time doing that because I don’t always remember what I’ve read or where I read it.
Well Monday morning Dottie got me up early so I decided to spend some time in my Bible. I’m doing a reading plan from YouVersion called “Jesus in the Torah”. I’m also reading Proverbs with a friend for the month of January. And I’m trying to get better about reading our house church passages before we get there Saturday evenings.
Last night, we read through Genesis 47-50. Genesis 48:15 says, “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked…may he bless these boys”. Derrick said remember the word “walked” as it has greater meaning. He told us to keep it pinned in our mind.
Well, then this morning as I did my reading plan, “Jesus in the Torah” gave me Psalm 119:1-8 to read today, along with a video overview of Genesis, which was really interesting. But right away in Psalm 119 it says, “Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.”
And then it goes on to tell you exactly what that means and how it looks. I just love when God does those kinds of things.
Psalm 119 says, be blameless, keep God’s laws and statutes, seek him with all your heart, learn his righteous laws and obey its decrees.
AND THEN, I went over to Proverbs 1. Oh man, sometimes God just wows me!
Proverbs 1 is all about wisdom and what happens whether you listen to wisdom or choose not to listen. How else can we know God’s laws and statutes and obey them but by knowing wisdom, listening to wisdom, and following wisdom?
It goes right into what we need to do. Listen to instruction and teaching, avoid temptation and being drawn into sin, and know that their are consequences to sin. In 15 it says, “do not set foot on their paths“, speaking of sinners who try to entice you.
Not only are the instructions right there for our taking, but the consequences are clear too. Verses 18 and 19 say, “These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves! Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.”
On the contrary, if we walk with the Lord, verse 33 gives a promise, a good consequence, if you will. “But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
This year I hope you dig into God’s Word daily and deeply. It doesn’t do to just read it, shut the book, and go on with your day. Really dig in, find these correlations, ask God to reveal them to you! Nothing in His Word is accidental, the correlations are many and real, and the best part – He wants to reveal it all to us!
As I told Andrew about all this he said, “God heard you and was like, oh yeah, watch this!”
It doesn’t seem to matter how many years I’ve walked with God, He still amazes and awes me!
I have to brag on my son a bit today. He has spent the last 3 years working part time jobs in the midst of school and has saved and saved. He’s not a spender by nature, but when we went through Financial Peace with him he really embraced it.
And, yesterday, after 4 months of searching, he bought himself a really nice car. With cash. Even the dealer was impressed when he handed over the wad.
I’m not great at saving money, I’ll be honest. Now I don’t really have any to save! But watching him, just working small part time jobs but choosing to save, has taught me a lot. You don’t need to make a lot to change your habits and save some. And it really does pay off.
He was able to look for a few months for just the right deal. And he is so happy with what he found. He got every feature he wanted; the most important of which is all wheel drive for our crazy winters. The best part is he found something that will last him the next 10 years if he takes care of it, and all without a loan that just sucks more money!
He has taught me a good lesson and I’m so proud of him!
Now mind you, we were all getting ready to go out and cut down the tree, when I spied a couple of my men with guns. Yeah, guns. What in the world do we need guns for? I don’t remember needing those to cut down a tree.
“Operation red squirrel took priority,” stated Andrew matter-of-factly. Okay…can we just go cut down our tree??
This year is unique. For one, we just had a baby four days ago. For two, we have a shed leaving our property.
What does that have to do with a Christmas tree? Well, since mama is still in recovery mode, we didn’t want to travel far for a tree. We usually go to a sweet little tree farm about a half hour away to pick our tree. That’s not far, except when you’ve just given birth! An hour drive for a tree didn’t sound like something I could manage this year. Of course the family could have gone without me, but where’s the fun in that?!
Here’s where the shed enters in. There’s an old grain shed on our property that just sits empty. It’s actually a really neat old building. I love the old wood, wondering about the different people who used it and the different ways it was used. I love the old hay smell. You can just feel the history when you walk in. But since it sits empty and we have long term plans for that spot, we decided to sell it. And this fall it’s moving off our property. To move it, the farmer who is taking it has to cut down a number of trees on the west side of our property. Hence, the Christmas tree right on our own property.
So, just a little walk, in the bright sunshine this afternoon and we have our tree! It was such a gorgeous day, the sun even still felt warm on our faces. The kids found hiking sticks, because you know, it was such a long walk. Andrew got to use the chainsaw, which always makes him happy! And I got outside, which I haven’t done in quite a few days. All in all, a great “field trip”.
You know how the tree always looks smaller when it’s outside??
Yeah, it’s a little full! Might take a bit of trimming…
God is good, isn’t He? He provided a tree free and easily that we wouldn’t have otherwise considered. It’s not perfectly groomed, and we may not fit through the doorway next to it, but it’ll be a family memory we’ll never forget, guns and all!
We are so thrilled to introduce you to the newest member of the Schwab tribe!
Dorothy “Dottie” Grace Schwab. Born on 11-24-20 5:32am 9lbs 2 ozs
Sometimes you wait and wait and wait for something to the point of exhaustion. I got to that point. I waited and prayed so long that this baby would just come!
Photo credit: romeberryphotography.com
Then last night I realized I was begging God for what I wanted. I never once during the 11 nights of contractions, submitted to His will and ways. So, before bed last night, when contractions had once again stalled out, I repented. I asked God to forgive me and help me submit to His will, whatever that was.
Then I slept hard. No contractions, just full, deep sleep. I woke up at 2 am with a contraction, and finally, they kept coming. There had been so much back and forth, thinking this was it, that my midwife was sleeping on my couch, determined not to go home and leave me empty handed again!
Andrew got the tub ready, Nickie did her thing, and I got in the tub. Then everything seemed to stop again. For a minute I started feeling discouraged again. But I quickly started praying it away. I asked God once again to help me submit and surrender to whatever He had for me. So I just rested in the warm water, enjoying praise music and Andrew’s hands on me, offering support. There was such an overpowering sense of peace in the room and a confidence that all would be well.
It wasn’t long and my body kicked into gear. It was the strangest experience because nothing was painful or overwhelming. Not until I had to push and even that happened so quickly I was shocked!
Photo credit: romeberryphotography.com
Suddenly, all that waiting, all that anticipation, all that wondering was a faded memory. It felt so far in the past as I scooped up my baby girl and snuggled her and said, “Thank you, Jesus!”.
Photo credit: romeberryphotography.com
Now, as I lay here with her sleeping on me, relishing in that new baby smell, I am in awe of what God can bring us through. I honestly can’t even tell you how many people texted me over the past week telling me they were praying for me and baby. Some were people I haven’t talked to in a while, yet God moved them to pray and reach out. I love how intimate and personal our God is. He knows just what we need to get through a trial and He never leaves us. He lavishly pours his grace on us!
Photo credit: romeberryphotography.com
And so, we come to our sweet little girl and how we chose her name. Names are important to me. Their meanings carry weight.
Dorothy Grace means God’s Gift of Grace. And don’t we all need to be reminded that it is a gift from God, that no man can boast. And He wants to pour His grace on us, lavishly, abundantly, never ceasing. God’s grace is what gets us through this life, the hardships, the trials, the wondering and waiting. And God’s grace is the only thing that gets us into heaven!
Dorothy is also my grandma’s name and I can’t think of a more amazing, tough, sweet woman to name my daughter after.
My prayer for our sweet girl is this: that she would know deeply and intimately God’s gift of grace and that she would spend her life pouring that grace on those around her just as Christ pours it on her. May we all aspire to this goal!
Now that you’ve been introduced, excuse me while I go and enjoy some baby snuggles!
It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve been here. Sorry! Sometimes I just hit dry spells and don’t know what to write about. Other times there are so many thoughts I’m not sure which direction to go. This time around it’s been vacillating between both!
Part of me thinks, well, life is just life right now. Plugging away at school, work, activities. Waiting, somewhat impatiently, for a sweet baby to arrive. Nothing overly exciting, you know. So then I think, there’s nothing people would want to hear about. Sometimes, just for fun, I browse YouTube vloggers to see what they are sharing and some of it is just so weird and silly. “Spend the day cleaning with me”, or “Here’s what we eat in a day”. Who wants to spend their time watching that? It seems so silly to me.
The other part of me thinks about all that’s going on in our world, our nation, our streets, our relationships and it’s so overwhelming I don’t know what to address. And, honestly, I don’t want to share my opinions on it all. Why? I just don’t think it’ll help. A friend recently told me that Facebook is like an echochamber. People throw their opinions out there or repost someone else’s opinion that they agree with and it just goes round and round. No one is changing anyone’s mind and no one is really listening to anyone else, just their own echo. And, they feel justified in sharing those posts because, really, people need to know the ‘truth’. If I’m completely honest, I just scroll past those opinions. You aren’t changing my mind via Facebook and I don’t bother posting what I believe to be true because I already know you’re scrolling past them too.
But, something that has been stirring in my heart in the midst of this all is this: there is absolute truth. There is something out there that we can stand on, no matter what’s happening around us. And, if you are feeling anxious, tired, worried, scared, depressed, angry because of what is happening in our world, then I need to ask you a question.
Are you standing firm on absolute truth or are you being tossed about by the waves?
It’s not an easy question to answer. Because often, we don’t even want to give up our anxiety and worries. For some reason, it feels good to hang on to those.
But, I want to challenge you to lay it down. Stop the anxiety. Stop the worry. I’m not saying it’s easy. I am saying it’s possible.
The Lord tells us repeatedly in His Word “Do not be afraid” “Don’t worry” “Be strong and courageous”. Why does he tell us over 300 times? Because He knows we need to hear it over and over and over. Everyday. Sometimes every minute.
In Joshua 1, God tells Joshua three times “Be strong and courageous”. But one of those times He says, “Be strong and VERY courageous” (emphasis mine). I just love that. God keeps saying it and then emphasizes it. Don’t just be strong and courageous, but be very courageous. He doesn’t want His people to be cowardly, to huddle away from the conflict or the trouble. God wants us to be courageous.
Very courageous.
Are you living in fear and anxiety and letting it rule you?
I’m not pointing fingers. I’m asking myself this question too.
If the answer is yes, what do we do? Again, God’s firm foundation, His Word answers for us.
2 Corinthians 10:5 – We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Have you ever really pondered this verse? Do you realize this means you can actually take control of your thoughts? Do you realize you have control over your anxious and fearful thoughts? Again, I’m not saying it’s easy, but it is possible.
Years ago, when I suffered depression and severe anxiety, I learned how to do this. It’s takes diligence, perseverance, hard work, and patience. It was horribly difficult at first and felt like an exhausting battle in my mind. Day by day, though, it got easier and easier. And I didn’t have to fight as often or as hard the better I got at it.
You can choose what you think about. You can control what enters your mind. You can fight those thoughts of anxiety and fear. Doesn’t it feel good to know that through Christ you have this power? I know it gives me a sense of freedom from the troubles of this world.
The next step of taking your thoughts captive is replacing them with different thoughts. You can’t just take those anxious thoughts captive and then expect them not to return. You have to fill your mind with something very specific.
Wouldn’t you know it? God’s Word shows up with the answer again.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
If all the posts on FB are making you anxious, get rid of it and take that time to read God’s Word. If the news is making you afraid, turn it off and read God’s Word. If you’re worried about being sick, turn to God’s Word. It’s filled with promises, truth, hope – things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.
I’m telling you from personal experience this works. Not only does it rid your mind of fear and anxiety, but it changes you. Deep within you are changed. That change comes out in ways you may not even expect. Others will notice you are more hope-filled, more content, more outward focused.
Fear can creep in at any time. Be prepared. This world is unsure and will continue to be so. Put your trust and hope where there is certainty – God’s Word.
This past Saturday, Andrew and I were surprised and blessed!
We’ve been attending a house church and the families have become our family. We love to do life with them and worship and learn with them. They surprised us and another family expecting as well with a sweet baby shower!
Sweet blanket from a 12 year old, along with beautiful new clothes for our precious little girl.
It meant a lot to us. By the time you get to baby number 11, not many people rejoice with you. To be honest, even Christians look at us like we are completely off our rocker. Yet, when you look at God’s Word, you only ever see children spoken about as a blessing and a heritage.
Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
This doesn’t mean everyone has to have eleven children, but it does mean that every Christian should rejoice over children. We should be excited and thank God for these little ones. We should trust that God knows best when He gives us a reward.
This swaddle says it so well. You are dearly loved, little one!
I often hear, “I could never do that”. I hear, “well, we’re not like the Schwabs”. We aren’t anything special or different. We’re just ordinary people, trusting God with our lives. I remember a couple years ago a pastor asking the question, are you trusting God with every part of your lives? We have a hard time giving him every part, don’t we?
I’ll be honest, I struggle too. It’s hard to truly trust and know that God knows best. When we do, though, the rewards and blessings are so amazing and good. Because He is good! And He wants to give us good things!
Now, the dresser drawers are full of sweet little outfits, there are blankets and loveys for baby to snuggle with, the car seat and bassinet are waiting. As far as the Schwabs are concerned, there is complete and utter excitement as we wait for this sweet addition to our family! We know beyond the shadow of a doubt that she is a blessing for our family!
Oh my goodness! Has it ever been busy here?! We are at the end of our fifth week of homeschooling and are finally hitting our groove. The garden isn’t done but has slowed down allowing me to breathe. The apple trees are almost all picked…just one left. There’s still a long list of fall projects that need to get done before cold weather sets in and a new baby joins our lives!
For many reasons this year homeschooling was a bigger adjustment than other years. First of all, two started college in August. That was a huge adjustment for all of us, especially the two actually doing it! They had to figure out classes, what’s online, what’s in person, what day and time they have to be online or at school, and all that goes with college. It definitely took a few weeks to wrap our heads around it all and I feel like it’s finally smoothing out for them.
Another started online classes with zoom classes at four different times during the week. We chose this, although I’m sure it sounds like a lot. But this child needed something that was just hers and wasn’t with mom. After the initial learning curve of zoom and Google Classroom, it’s been great. It was definitely the right decision for her.
Then one started Challenge B in CC the same day as the other three started their schooling. It’s been a great for him, but lots new to learn and navigate.
Lastly, we got the rest started with some classes at home, some CC, and band at the local middle school.
And don’t forget about the two year old who just wants attention and terrorizes everyone while they are trying to get things done!
There’s been a lot to navigate and figure out this fall. Top it all off with 5 cars breaking down and a garden that went above and beyond our expectations. We’ve been canning and freezing and preserving non stop all while squeezing in school.
And the vehicles…oh my. I mean, I know we drive old cars but it got a bit ridiculous! At one point we had one working vehicle, one semi working, and borrowed Andrew’s moms for a third. We took one vehicle that had been sitting on our property for months needing to be sold and put insurance back on it while Isaiah got his car repaired. The day his car was done, the car he was driving broke down in the driveway on his way home from school! You can’t make this stuff up.
But as cars break down I’m continually reminded of God’s provision. He blessed my boys with the finances to go to school and come out debt free at the end. He abundantly blessed our garden and our cold cellar is full! Our freezers are full of good food too, right from our property. We’re healthy and happy and the kids are all enjoying school. Andrew’s job has been busier than ever, which is hard but a blessing too.
There’s not much more I can ask for. “God is good all the time. And all the time, God is good.” A good friend of mine always says that, and it is true!
We had our first day of school yesterday! The two oldest had to start college classes, Olivia started her online classes, although Zoom was having a lot of trouble because of all the online classes starting yesterday, and Elliot started Challenge B for Classical Conversations.
So, I decided that the rest of the kids should start too. We didn’t do much, and really the day didn’t really go as I envisioned!
After the boys got out the door, I left with Elliot to drop him off. Then I met a friend for coffee. We both have 10 kids and just get this life we’re in! It’s so good to talk with someone who really knows what it’s like to manage a really large family everyday and try to coordinate and follow their schedules.
I glanced at the time and it was 11:40!! I guess we had a lot to catch up on! I had to race home to get Olivia on her first class.
When I got home my kids had had lunch, cleaned it up and put the little one down for nap! They had also read and done math on their own! The big kids had even helped the little ones read their practice books! I could get used to that kind of first day.
We did a little project in the afternoon and then swam in our pool with some friends.
It was a good first day. Not at all the way I planned or thought it would go, but it was good.
I’m not really one for big events or even having a tradition of doing the same thing every first day. Some years we just crack down and get started.
But I might just have to continue the tradition of mom going out for coffee on the first day. Getting that boost and reminder of how good it all is, was so helpful!
This summer as I’ve been praying and thinking about our school year, the Lord keeps giving me one word: Consistency.
The big events and traditions can be fun and there’s nothing wrong with them, but what happens in between those is way more important.
Are we being consistent? Are we diligently working on our school work? Are we puffing away and making progress weekly?
We almost always have other things in our week that take away our time for school. We rarely get 5 days in and thats ok. The other things we do are important too. We need time with friends, time for appointments, time to decompress. But if we can be careful with our time and choose wisely what we say yes to, then we still have enough time for school work too.
This year, the theme is consistency. Just keep at it, keep working, pick up where we left off. And part of being consistent, is being very careful with our time and what we say yes to. The reality is that it’s difficult to maintain everyone’s schedules in a big family and having a big family takes a lot of time. Everyone needs something and everyone is at different levels.
Taking some time for me is also important. If I’m not recharged daily,I have nothing to give my kids. So, my part in being consistent is getting up early and spending time reading Scripture and praying. It changes and alters my heart, mind, and soul, and aligns me with what God wants me to focus on for that day. It’s amazing how if I spend time in God’s Word, whatever comes my way is manageable but if I don’t I feel harried and worried. So, my consistency is being with Jesus everyday.
For my kids it means working on what God has given them. That math that’s difficult? Let’s do it, work hard and push through. That paper that needs to be written? Let’s find a way to enjoy it and get it done.
And, as a family, it means making sure we spend time together and unplugged from technology. After having gone to our cabin where technology wasn’t possible, we saw such a deep deep need to unplug regularly. So, somehow in the crazy busy life, we need to unplug weekly and actually look in the eye the people God has given us right here.
Also, as a family we want to consistently spend time with good friends. People who speak wisdom, people who love Jesus, people who build us up and encourage us, and those who we can do the same for.
Your consistency may look really different from ours. You may have different focuses, but the important thing is to discover what God does want you to focus on and be consistent in them. I encourage you to take some time to pray over all the activities, curriculum, and outside forces vying for your time and really choose wisely. You cannot be consistent if you are over booked. It just won’t work.
This morning I read in 1 Corinthians 15, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.” And verse 58: “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you.”
By His grace we are changed. We can be consistent and diligent because of the effects of His grace. And because of His grace we can stand firm. We can say no to those things that just take away time and don’t add value to our lives.
May He guide, direct, and bless your day and your school year and help you be consistent!
Our farm is going crazy. In a good way. We’ve been processing all sorts of fruits and vegetables and every time I turn around there’s something else ripe!
I also ordered peaches and pears so those had to be processed as well. I’m so excited to see the shelves in my cold cellar filling up. But it’s all a lot of work too. And of course it all comes right when we need to start school!
I have to remind myself of how wonderful all these food vegetables and fruits all be in January! And I have to remind myself that harvesting, canning, and moving jars around is all part of learning!
Last night I took a walk down the driveway while the little boys ran down the driveway. The sun was shining as it set, the breeze was light, and there were lots of giggles. I looked over and noticed my favorite bush on my property. A couple years ago a friend excitedly pointed this bush out to me and at the time I didn’t realize what a treasure it was. Now I baby it!
It’s a large, gorgeous elderberry bush! And, of course, it was heavy and full with ripe berries! Kids, grab the bowls and scissors!
Just a small bowl of elderberries! (Samuel has really long arms!)
If you’ve never processed elderberries, it’s so tedious. It’ll take us a week of evenings watching movies and picking berries off the branches to just get the berries ready. You can’t have any little sticks or green berries because they are toxic, so it’s a long, arduous process. Then we have to boil them with all sorts of other good things to make a syrup. But my, oh my! What a blessing elderberry syrup is in the winter when colds and flu abound. We stayed so healthy last winter taking it regularly.
Yes, we use laundry baskets to haul our harvest!
Now the tomatoes are going crazy, the apples are almost ripe and the beets are waiting to be harvested as well. I’m going to try pickled beets this year, which I’ve never done before. I’ll probably be the only one to eat them, but hey, we’ll give it a try.
It all makes me feel so blessed but also so overwhelmed! It’s exactly like when I look at my kids! I feel so blessed and so overwhelmed. There’s kids everywhere and they all need me. All. The. Time. And yet, it’s so good.
The harvest we reap each fall reminds me to keep going with my kids, even when it’s overwhelming and I’m exhausted. Even when I have no idea what to do with them or if it’ll work.
I have to remember that in the end, the harvest I reap with my kids is more important than anything else I do in this life. And just like those canned peaches and pears will be so so sweet and wonderful in January, watching my kids grow into adults who prayerfully love Jesus will be the sweetest blessing.
Family vacation
When I look at a family photo my heart swells. I feel so abundantly blessed with all these beautiful, wonderful, uniquely made people in my life! I’m so thankful God trusted Andrew and I to raise these children. And I’m thankful for those who help us along the way, just as kids help me with the garden. None of us are meant to do this life alone.
Desired Haven Farm 