Pressure canning

One thing that we were taught to do this semester was to pressure can. I have to say that this was not something I was looking forward to doing myself, but it was a requirement to can at least one load of stuff. Not only is it a time consuming project, the stuff looks so gross in the jars that the thought of eating it is a bit unsettling. But alas, I did can...and what a disaster. The first load that I canned included six jars of chicken. Only two out of the six jars sealed the way they were supposed to. Why you ask? I am still asking the same question! So I reprocessed them along with a few jars of ground beef. I know you are saying to yourself, "I thought they did not eat meat?" Well, for jungle camp we threw out all rules about diet considering the limited resources we will have available to us, primarily fresh or frozen vegetables. Anyway, so the second batch included four jars of chicken and three jars of ground beef. Three jars of chicken and 1 jar of ground beef sealed, 1 jar of chicken burst open in the canner and 2 jars of ground beef did not seal. So I did a third batch that included 3 jars of corn chowder and the 2 jars of ground beef. The soup sealed the beef did not. Ugh! I am so sick of canning and not having it turn out. Needless to say I hope this is the last time I ever have to can in my lifetime! Here is a picture of a few of my jars:

I look happier than I really am!

 This past week I finally had time to sew myself an apron. I bought the kit for it over spring break, but just now got to it!

Even fits over the belly!

Squaring the lot

Yesterday we spent some time out at jungle camp. Jeff squared up our lot to get it all ready for building week which starts next Monday. Here are a few pictures of how things are looking now:

Happy to be outside

Our cleared lot where our 16x28 house will go

All  our poles organized by length

Squaring up the lot with two helpers

Rylan "helping" by adding extra stakes!

Cutting more stakes, helper close by

The big race

Today was field day for the Academy (K-12) that is here on our campus. They held one race for the preschoolers and Rylan got to be a part of it! He was so excited to race. About mid-way through the race he turned around and started running in the other direction! It is funny to watch little kids race, they have no concept of what to do. He finally turned back around and finished the race. Here are some pictures of the event:

Jungle Camp Pre-Building

We are working hard to prepare for Jungle Camp. Building starts on May 30th. Each day we plan to show at least one picture of the progress that has been made. It will be a photo journal of sorts. As of now we are allowed to clear our spot of leaves, lay out and organize our poles and square the lot up. Here are some pictures of the way things looked when we first got up there:

Rylan loves to help daddy do any kind of work!

Carsten just likes to sit in the mud and look at leaves!

What looks like a teepee is actually the poles for our house.

Ry with a few friends in a staff jungle camp house

Random pictures of the boys

Here are a few pictures of our silly boys:

Rylan loves this bottle he got for his b-day, but so does brother!!

Rylan asked me to get out the camera and take a picture of him!

It rains a lot here, so both boys got some rain boots!

Letter to my mom

Dear Mom,

For the past 3 years I have had the joy and challenge of being a mom myself. Each of these years has brought me more understanding and appreciation for you! Raising kids is such a wonderful thing, yet it can be so hard at times.

For 19 years of my life you took care of me in every way that was possible. (I say 19 years because it was at that point that I got married). Now you take care of me in different ways and you take care of my boys as well. I can't even begin to thank you for the many diaper changes you had to do, the endless loads of laundry, the messes you had to pick up after I played, the many hours spent comforting me when I was sick or hurt, times you had to stay up late worrying about me getting home safely, the conversations you had to listen to as I lamented over my heartaches, the numerous calls you received about car accidents I had been in, the millions of things that had to be done to plan my wedding, standing by my side as I gave birth to my first son, flying out to WI on a moments notice to be there when I had the second, driving hour upon hour with us across the country as we moved, helping me pack and move on the many occasions that I did that, and now being an ever-encouraging person in my life even though I know it is often so hard for you with us living so far away.

I appreciate you so very much. I am so very blessed to have been raised by you and now being able to call you my friend! Happy Mother's Day! I love you!

Ash

Pregnancy pics- 24 weeks

At the request of a dear California friend, here are a few pregnancy pictures. This Sunday marks 24 weeks along or 6 months. Things are going great, I am feeling well and Logan is growing right on track!