SO MUCH September ...counting our blessings!

 September had SO MUCH going on for our family...

and we are COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS! 

Nathan was accepted to Slippery Rock University

and IUP!

On Fridays this month, Nathan spent the day doing an

"externship" with Crawford County Commissioners,

GIS department, 911 Call Center, and Emergency Management Agency.

This is for his Capstone Project but also because he

plans to major in Geographic Applied Technology

with a minor in Emergency Management.

We celebrated Grace's 16th birthday!

She loves to bake and wanted to help make her

birthday cake ... Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake!

We are talking 3 layers of moist dark chocolate cake

with thick layers of homemade caramel in between,

a chocolate buttercream icing on top and sides

drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with sea salt.

Yum! Yum! Yum!

We made the caramel layers so thick the cake slid

but it still tasted amazing.

("no more pictures mom, I just want to eat it!")

Grace's pink roses from daddy!

Grace was blessed with all the cards she received!

23 cards in all!

(thank you to everyone who sent one)

And our family outing to celebrate was going to

the Big Daddy Weave concert two days after

her birthday because this girl loves Christian music!

(I've been wearing my hair pulled back a lot lately

because Grace and I are growing it out for wigs again

and it is getting long ...it isn't a buzz cut, ha!)

And look at this beautiful stained glass horse

that Grace received from "Aunt Flora".

We also celebrated Gramma's 90th birthday!

The whole family went out for dinner.

We also went over one evening just us four and Gramma

with an elderberry pie and ice cream to bless her.

We spent a week doing farm chores for a local farmer/friend.

After collecting, washing, weighing and sorting up to 600 eggs

a day plus feeding/caring for all these chickens, turkeys, pigs, beef cows and a dog...

I'm content with our homestead of 10 chickens, 2 ducks and a barn cat!

This month, I had never ending tomatoes to can ...

I did salsa, pizza sauce, soup, crushed tomatoes, and marinara sauce.

We also did up 2 bushel broccoli and 1 bushel cauliflower for the freezer.

I picked 2 bushel of grapes making 135 qts of grape juice.

AND we picked about 10 bushel of apples from our property or neighbors'

pressing 41 gallons of cider.

I'm exhausted but so blessed to have overflowing canning shelves and freezers!

Nathan grew potatoes for the first time this summer.

Here he dug up the first few for dinner one night.

He harvested about 15# total.

Our ducks have been laying a lot of double yoke eggs,

but one day we got a triple yoke egg!

The duck eggs make great boiled or deviled eggs and are

awesome in baking!

We are so blessed!  

{The more I look in the details, the more of Your (God's) goodness I find!}

lyrics from this new song - take a moment to listen

Counting My Blessings