The Blessings of Children & Pumpkins

We have been dealing with some illness here that has rendered each one of us unable to function for at least 2 and at the most 4 days.  It has brought shivers, sweats, coughing, sneezing, sleeping and just needing to be still for long periods of time.  Now it is my turn. 

Yes, that's snow that you see!

I felt it coming on Thursday with the tickle in my throat.  Friday I knew that I needed to get my Mega Shopping done, so I just pushed through the beginning wave of feeling whiped out.  My kids worked like troupers through the entire shopping time and it was absolutely amazing watching them work like energizer bunnies.  My back was finished loading and unloading, so they took over.  I put everything away and kept telling them that they were doing wonderful and we can collapse when everything was put away.  What a wonderful treat for me to have my children help me because as we were shopping, I started feeling run down and tired, but I kept pushing myself until we were done.  I know, not the best thing in the world for me to do, but I enjoy knowing that I don't have to go to town to get anything else between Mega Shop days, unless its an absolute necessity, like an ER visit.  ;) 

When people are sick, we watch videos or in this case, "Liberty's Kids" was found on youtube! :)

By Saturday morning, I was down for the count.  I tried getting up out of bed, but felt so much like a zombie sitting in the chair.  I just couldn't bring myself to do much at all.  When we went to get the kids' pumpkins, the worst of this ickyness hit me.

  As we say around here, I took a nose-dive.  I tried vacuuming and had a full blown breathing episode.  I went to get my inhaler and for the first time in years of using it, it *burned* my bronchial airways. I sat down, didn't move for quite a while.  I couldn't talk, so I used sign language to tell the kids what they needed to know. My youngest cleaned out the inside of the oven so that I could rest.  My daughter took her turn wiping out the inside of the oven too.  My oldest made an awesome venison stew just from me signing and whispering to him how to make it.  He had a little help from my daughter, but what a blessing it was to know that it was there this morning!  I'm still under the weather, coughing up stuff, taking Zicam meltways, and keeping a throat lozenger in my mouth.  I'm feeling just a bit better, but in spite of it all, the youngest was able to bake his pumpkin today. 

These were the biggest pumpkins there.  The one in the middle was 60 pounds.  If you look behind them to the left, you'll see the pumpkin wagon.  They found 4 HUGE ones for $3 each!  I was so very pleasantly surprised!  :) 

The pumpkin is baked as I type and the seeds are in the oven.  I'm hoping to do one pumpkin per day.  That way if the local market calls to let me know that I can come and get their apples, I'll be ready.  I'm glad that we went yesterday, even though this sickness took a nose dive.  When JL opened up his pumkin the walls were so very thick, it was simply amazing! 

What we do with our pumpkin:

1.  Cut it in half, remove all the "guts" and seeds and separate.  Put the guts in the compost pile and set the un-rinsed seeds aside.

2.  We spray a deep cookie sheet with cooking spray and put half the pumpkin on the cookie sheet and bake for 2-3 hours on 300*F.

3.  Check on the water level in the pan each hour and pour it off so that it doesn't over flow inside your stove.  They hold A LOT of water. 

4.  Remove from oven when pumpkin is soft and sides cave in.  Put other half in the oven and let the first half cool completely.

5.  When it is cooled, the peel will come off with ease.  Put the peeled pumpkin in a big bowl as you peel it.  We usually set it aside to wait for the other half to be done baking and cooling.

6.  Once all the pumpkin is in a big bowl, we use a hand blender to puree all of it.  Once it is pureed, we label freezer baggies with the amount in the bag, the contents and the year.  We usually pack 2 cups of pureed pumpkin in each baggie and freeze them flat for easier storage in our upright freezer.

7.  If you have a recipe that calls for pumpkin, take out what you need in the morning and put it in to a bowl on the counter to defrost.  Use just like you would use canned pumpkin from the store.  The only difference is that this type of pumpkin is just a little more watery, but packed with nutrients.  :) 

8.  For the seeds, don't rinse them.  Leave them in a bowl and add your favorite seasonings to them.  JL decided to add cinnamon and sugar to his.  Spray the bottom of a cookie sheet and spread the seasoned seeds in a single layer on the bottom and bake on 300*F for an hour.   If they seem a little gooey, put them in for another half an hour.  They should be firm, but not burnt.

 

What a wonderful blessing each child is for us!  They are growing in to thoughtful, responsible, God loving young people.  I'll walk them through as they each process their own pumpkin this year.  This is one of many valuable skills they will take in to adulthood and what a blessing it will be to them if they choose to use these skills.  They've also kept the house running while I've been sick and  I am so very grateful and very blessed!


Heb 12:11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.