Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Our land!

Here is our land!


The "strange hand" (excavator) came in for a few days.


But that was a few months back. So our land looks different now.


We have planted several hundred trees.


 And all the original vegetation is growing back with a vengeance.


We are still praying about how best to use this land.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Hen & Chicks

Here at Hen & Chicks, we just got through our most hectic work day to date. A friend of ours arranged to host his class reunion, and asked if he could bring them to our place to visit. So we settled on breakfast for twenty-six people. I was nervous for about a week leading up to that morning. Our breakfast menu is sandwiches, cranberry orange streusel, cookies, season fruit and soy milk. I went over again and again every little ingredient and when to prepare it. Usually Ken helps a lot with getting plates out to customers, but this time he would need to be out there socializing with all them folks. So I prepped the kids. They have helped a lot in the past, and made a tidy sum as a result. But this time I asked for double the speed and all hands on deck (yup, Lydia).  I asked family and some friends for prayer, and....


....all went well! Of course it was a lot more chaotic than I had hoped. What was supposed to be two tidy groups eating breakfast in shifts (we only had seating or 15), turned out to be one big cloud of humans, sitting, standing, strolling - all smiling and content.  So I just churned out sandwiches and goodies as fast as I could. Despite all my planning, the pace was still a little too slow. Oh well. They didn't seem to notice much. All three kids delivered food, and brought in dirty dishes as fast as they were available. Then they were washed and re-used right away. Susan, whose husband hosted his classmates, came in and helped wash dishes and serve.  Live saver!! Thank you, Susan!

Eventually, everyone said they were full. I couldn't believe it. Did my kitchen really churn out 31 breakfasts (including us, you see)? And no one was going hungry? Wow. All really went well! And the kids got a raise.

Now I have new respect for those breakfast shop people who do this everyday, seemingly effortlessly.

Thanks for your prayers, friends! I felt them keenly when, for lunch that day, Ken put some dumplings in the pot to cook, and the gas ran out within seconds. Any sooner, and I would have been stuck halfway through scrambling eggs for the sandwiches. God is good!

At the end, we sang a few songs together.

Good times all around!


No, that's not the bus they came in. It's just a picture of our sign.


The kids all aproned and ready to go. They had their breakfast early to be ready. (Sorry Mom, for Joseph's pants! I didn't have time to notice...)






Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Thermomix

Where would I be without my Therms? It does everything. We bought it in anticipation of starting our baking business. We hoped it would ease the labor involved. And indeed it has. Everything I make for Hen and Chicks (Ken's idea. Love it) comes out of Thermy's trusty stainless steel bowl.

But not only that, it helps with all sorts of everyday things. I will never again boil eggs in a pot. My Thermy can handle that job easily.  My soups are silkier than ever.

I even took the class to become a Thermomix "advisor". So I can sell them now. It's not really my personality, but really it's not hard to talk about something you believe in. I actually sold one so far. :)

Best of all, it is a wonderful homeschooling tool. The kids love to make steamed buns (mantou) on their own using Therms.



The market for these things is really growing in the East, but not really in the States. It needs to. These are the best.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Thank you, Kerry, for the friendly reminder!

A lot has happened in the past few months, and it's time to document some of it.

I had three requests of God about the new place we were hoping to find after our Dulan lease ran out:

1. close to our land (which we bought almost two years ago. Half an hour drive from Dulan)
2. A yard
3. Clean house (I make a beeline to the kitchen of any potential rental. Then to the bathroom)

He answered them all! Above and beyond!



We now live ten minutes away from our land.
Thank you, Lord!