The Gang
October 2008 Sweet Potatoe Harvest
Saturday, October 31, 2009
3:57 PM | 
Posted by
Shirley
October has been busy with school, preserving the harvest, flu, school, making cheese, flu, school, flu, etc. Yes, we have had the feared H1N1 and survived without difficulty and WITHOUT the vaccination!!
All the children are doing well in school. Thomas had a rough time getting back into the routine after his almost week long bought with H1N1. He is finally starting to get back to normal. He only has 2 months left of his intensive therapy treatment. I'm very thankful for these three years yet I'm looking forward to life no longer revolving around Thomas's therapy schedule!! We are unsure as to what the future will hold for Thomas regarding therapy. Wisconsin passed a law that requires insurance companies to cover therapy for Autism. That sounds GREAT to those who haven't been able to "afford" therapy. However, the hope quickly fizzles when you realize that you still have to pay your deductible and in many cases a co-pay which can easily total $1,600 a month in order to receive 20-30 hours of therapy a week. I'm afraid that we have discovered that our insurance is one that is required to pay which means we are required to use the insurance rather than the Waiver. Depending on how all the details play out we may no longer be able to have therapy for Thomas beginning in Jan 2010. The Lord knows what is best and we are trusting Him for the outcome. I do believe that Thomas needs more therapy, however, we have a large deductible and a 20% co-pay which will most likely mean little to no therapy for Thomas.
Philip's lumpy limphnodes continue to decrease in size very slowly. He goes back to see the Dr. in December. Philip loves school and is really doing well. There are still many days that he wants to stay home with mom and home school. I keep telling him that someday he will be home with mommy for school but for now, he has to go to Mrs. R's class. I love the time of day when he comes off the bus anxious to hug mom and share a bit about his day.
Nathan is enjoying his 4K class. The teachers told me that when he was out with H1N1 the class was quiet and lacked its typical "spark" and "energy". He is starting with two 30 minute sessions of speech therapy. His greatest weakness with speech is clear pronunciation. The Speech Pathologist did four tests with him and he passed all them with flying colors except the one on phonetics and pronunciation. I really like his SP and I know with her help Nathan will make a lot of speech progress this year. I am also excited that I will get to play the piano for Nathan's 4K Christmas program. This will give me a good chance to get to know more of the folks in our school and town.
Eliza, Sam, and Caleb are doing well with their home schooling. They seem to enjoy spelling the most which is really quite funny since Eliza and Sam are really behind and Caleb is advanced. They like the program that we are using though so that is good! Sam and Caleb get to do a lot of experiments in science which makes that subject fun for them and challenging for mom..... I have to have the right stuff on hand for the experiments!! I think a nice science kit is on the Christmas list for this year!
Phil helped his team at work move their data center this month. It went very smoothly which brought on the praise of the WM board and Phil's bosses. I am so thankful for the job that Phil has. He really enjoys it and he is valued for his hard work! He is also putting in a lot of time on the farm getting it ready for winter. He's built a new stall in the barn for the goats, fixed up the cows stall and milking area and is constantly moving fencing so Rose can have fresh pasture. He is a hard working man!! In a couple weeks we'll be butchering a steer with some Amish Neighbors. Phil is excited about learning how to butcher beef! After that experience my hubby will be able to butcher everything we hope to raise on our own someday.
Me, I've been busy trying to keep up with this busy brood and the farm. I am enjoying making lots of food out of our good Jersey milk. We make cheddar cheese, Mozzarella, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, and lots of hot chocolate to name a few things! Elizabeth can now make Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese from start to finish without my assistance. She is a big help in the kitchen! My new hens are starting to lay which has increased our egg production from 8-10 eggs a day to 14-18 eggs a day. I'm able to sell the extra we don't need. We have finally decided to end our Turkey brooding business. Our Tom and the 3 hens will be gracing our table over the next few months. Our Amish neighbors have agreed to help me butcher them the week before Thanksgiving! I'm looking forward to Turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year just didn't seem like Thanksgiving without a turkey!
This week I'll be canning carrots, pumpkin, squash, and apples. With the help of my Amish neighbor I'm am slowly becoming more confident about pressure canning. I just don't have the freezer space for everything yet I want the food to last us the year, so pressure canning some of these foods is my only option. The Amish have done it for YEARS and thankfully Sarah is willing to answer all my silly questions!!
In the midst of it all I'm thankful for the beautiful Fall weather. God paints the rolling hill's and the edges of the fields that surround us with the vibrant yellows, red's, and oranges of fall. Most of the leaves have blown off the trees now as we hunker down for the slower, colder days of winter. We've survived out first year trying to be fairly self sustainable with good success. We've learned a lot through the struggles, successes, laughter and tears and we look forward to next year!
All the children are doing well in school. Thomas had a rough time getting back into the routine after his almost week long bought with H1N1. He is finally starting to get back to normal. He only has 2 months left of his intensive therapy treatment. I'm very thankful for these three years yet I'm looking forward to life no longer revolving around Thomas's therapy schedule!! We are unsure as to what the future will hold for Thomas regarding therapy. Wisconsin passed a law that requires insurance companies to cover therapy for Autism. That sounds GREAT to those who haven't been able to "afford" therapy. However, the hope quickly fizzles when you realize that you still have to pay your deductible and in many cases a co-pay which can easily total $1,600 a month in order to receive 20-30 hours of therapy a week. I'm afraid that we have discovered that our insurance is one that is required to pay which means we are required to use the insurance rather than the Waiver. Depending on how all the details play out we may no longer be able to have therapy for Thomas beginning in Jan 2010. The Lord knows what is best and we are trusting Him for the outcome. I do believe that Thomas needs more therapy, however, we have a large deductible and a 20% co-pay which will most likely mean little to no therapy for Thomas.
Philip's lumpy limphnodes continue to decrease in size very slowly. He goes back to see the Dr. in December. Philip loves school and is really doing well. There are still many days that he wants to stay home with mom and home school. I keep telling him that someday he will be home with mommy for school but for now, he has to go to Mrs. R's class. I love the time of day when he comes off the bus anxious to hug mom and share a bit about his day.
Nathan is enjoying his 4K class. The teachers told me that when he was out with H1N1 the class was quiet and lacked its typical "spark" and "energy". He is starting with two 30 minute sessions of speech therapy. His greatest weakness with speech is clear pronunciation. The Speech Pathologist did four tests with him and he passed all them with flying colors except the one on phonetics and pronunciation. I really like his SP and I know with her help Nathan will make a lot of speech progress this year. I am also excited that I will get to play the piano for Nathan's 4K Christmas program. This will give me a good chance to get to know more of the folks in our school and town.
Eliza, Sam, and Caleb are doing well with their home schooling. They seem to enjoy spelling the most which is really quite funny since Eliza and Sam are really behind and Caleb is advanced. They like the program that we are using though so that is good! Sam and Caleb get to do a lot of experiments in science which makes that subject fun for them and challenging for mom..... I have to have the right stuff on hand for the experiments!! I think a nice science kit is on the Christmas list for this year!
Phil helped his team at work move their data center this month. It went very smoothly which brought on the praise of the WM board and Phil's bosses. I am so thankful for the job that Phil has. He really enjoys it and he is valued for his hard work! He is also putting in a lot of time on the farm getting it ready for winter. He's built a new stall in the barn for the goats, fixed up the cows stall and milking area and is constantly moving fencing so Rose can have fresh pasture. He is a hard working man!! In a couple weeks we'll be butchering a steer with some Amish Neighbors. Phil is excited about learning how to butcher beef! After that experience my hubby will be able to butcher everything we hope to raise on our own someday.
Me, I've been busy trying to keep up with this busy brood and the farm. I am enjoying making lots of food out of our good Jersey milk. We make cheddar cheese, Mozzarella, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, and lots of hot chocolate to name a few things! Elizabeth can now make Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese from start to finish without my assistance. She is a big help in the kitchen! My new hens are starting to lay which has increased our egg production from 8-10 eggs a day to 14-18 eggs a day. I'm able to sell the extra we don't need. We have finally decided to end our Turkey brooding business. Our Tom and the 3 hens will be gracing our table over the next few months. Our Amish neighbors have agreed to help me butcher them the week before Thanksgiving! I'm looking forward to Turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year just didn't seem like Thanksgiving without a turkey!
This week I'll be canning carrots, pumpkin, squash, and apples. With the help of my Amish neighbor I'm am slowly becoming more confident about pressure canning. I just don't have the freezer space for everything yet I want the food to last us the year, so pressure canning some of these foods is my only option. The Amish have done it for YEARS and thankfully Sarah is willing to answer all my silly questions!!
In the midst of it all I'm thankful for the beautiful Fall weather. God paints the rolling hill's and the edges of the fields that surround us with the vibrant yellows, red's, and oranges of fall. Most of the leaves have blown off the trees now as we hunker down for the slower, colder days of winter. We've survived out first year trying to be fairly self sustainable with good success. We've learned a lot through the struggles, successes, laughter and tears and we look forward to next year!
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