Catching Up

Dear Friends,


What a strange and cool summer it's been here in Wisconsin. It's hard to believe it's already pretty much over! Life has been busy here at the Kaether homestead, and it's been quite a while since I've written here. So, I thought I'd write a catch up post before going on with the last two dragons.





So what all have we been doing?





Picking cherries and canning cherry pie filling.





Picking raspberries and black raspberries and making jam.





Canning up a bushel of peaches.





Shredding and freezing zucchini.





Picking blackberries and making more jam.





Picking apples and planning to make applesauce.





Watching the corn and the peppers and the pumpkins which are just about to be ready.





Figuring out when and how to harvest the pears and the hickory nuts and black walnuts.





Eating the tomatoes about as fast as they come in. :)





I feel like this is all free (or nearly free) food that God has provided for us and I'd better take advantage of it while it's here. Kind of like when God gave the Israelites manna and they had to make sure they got out there and picked it up at the time God gave it to them.








The other day, I made for the very first time, my own tzaziki sauce. I didn't plant cucumbers this year, but a friend gave me a few from her garden. We love gyros, so I tried an experiment. I browned ground beef and seasoned it with greek seasoning, then served it with homemade tzaziki sauce, fresh tomatoes from our garden, and flour tortillas (in place of pitas). I have to admit they weren't as good as the real thing, but they weren't bad at all, and the tzaziki sauce itself was so yummy!





My sister, Cheri came down from Minnesota for a weekend and we recorded a couple of songs for our new cd - now finished! entitled "Through God's Eyes ~ Songs of Comfort and Praise for the Valley".





I've also been working hard on the published version of Savannah's Story, which I decided to call, "Right Where I Belong". I just got my proof copy from Lulu.com today and it is finally mistake-free and ready to offer for sale! I am excited to see how God can use Savannah's story to bless others.





I am still not pregnant. I never expected that six months later, I'd still be waiting. But I am learning to trust (again) that God really does know what He's doing and His timing is perfect. Sometimes the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. And I want so badly for God to heal my heart in the way *I* think would be most healing - a new baby. But, as I was proof reading my book this afternoon, I read again what I said about the light and the shadow in my pictures.
"In my life there are times of darkness - wintery times. And like taking a photograph with a flash, I've tried to force my own ideas of light into the situation. Although they may seem to help a little, they lack the power to transform my life into something truly beautiful. It's just a flat copy of what could be." And I realized, that's just what I'm doing when I want to kick my heels and scream like a two year old - "It's not fair!" I'm trying to force God into my concept of what's best for me. Lord, give me the eyes of faith to see Your picture that You're painting in my life - a picture where the shadows are perhaps the most beautiful part!

I'm working on building up an inventory of dresses for Daddy's Little Princess for the Christmas season. I'm going to have some big changes coming for DLP in the new year (you can read more about it here: http://www.daddys-little-princess.com/dlporganics.html ) and so I'm hoping to make the Christmas season a little simpler this year so that I can concentrate on making the new website and getting everything ready to go. I just got my new labels - even they are made of organic cotton! - and I'm so pleased with how beautifully they turned out. (Thank you, Lisa at clothinglabels4u.com!)



I've been missing my big boys a lot as they've been working for my brother-in-law for the summer, baby sitting his children, and gone a whole week at a time. Micha comes home tomorrow - just in time to celebrate Juli's 10th birthday! Wow, does time fly!

And most of all we've been - watching the weeds and the children grow faster than you can imagine!!



God bless you all
- Heidi