Drawing Nearer

A New Blog

2010-01-20T09:58:00.000-08:00

This is where I blog now...

Summer Breakfast

2009-08-05T11:29:00.000-07:00

photo by Ashley

Today I felt like I was visiting with an old friend. Last summer I had a breakfast just like this nearly every day. Heirloom tomatoes, lightly salted and sourdough toast heavily buttered. Mmm... It's just so good. Our tomatoes got off to a slow start this year so these are from the Farmer's Market. Except that little white cherry tomato, that's straight from the garden. It's a Snow White. And the others are Aunt Ruby's German Green (one of the prettiest tomatoes I have ever seen. It has pink marbling in the heart of it!) and Hillbilly. That one is so good. Thankfully, we finally have some coming off our bushes. Sungold, which is one of the sweetest and best tasting of the cherry tomatoes and Black Princes which are especially good with sourdough toast. I love tomatoes (and sourdough toast), can you tell? I am finding I must take pleasure in the little things in the midst of all that is going on around here. A little remodeling, moving the laundry room, two plumbers, painting the living room, teaching the two year old that cutting your own hair is a BIG no-no, and all the normal stuff of life like laundry and meal planning and marriage and child-raising feel like a bit much at times. And I tend to not be a relaxed person by nature. So I am focusing on growing in that area. It's a stretching time, I tell you. My husband recently put a challenge before me: just relax for two weeks. Not the R & R, vacation, lay-in-a-hammock type of relaxation (although I wouldn't turn that down right now!), but relaxing in the moment, no matter the circumstances. So, if the two year old gives himself a haircut, someone forgets to take out the trash, the two year old helps himself to a few swigs of chocolate syrup while I'm painting and the chicken eggs get left outside for the cats to play with, I am just to relax. I can do anything for two weeks, right?

Wednesday's Lunch

2009-07-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

In my effort to use up what I have in my fridge and cupboards, I was was trying to figure out what to make with one chicken breast that needed to be cooked. Well, the children used last night's leftovers to make tacos so I decided to whip up a chicken and pasta dish for me. I cooked the chicken and a handful of sungold cherry tomatoes in olive oil. When the chicken was nearly done I added a splash of balsamic vinegar, pressed two cloves of garlic into it, tossed in the cooked penne, removed it from the heat, added a small handful of shredded basil, thin slices of tomato, a few shakes of red pepper flakes and a generous grating of Romano cheese. Delicious!

photo by Ashley

The Fruit of Someone Else's Labor

2009-07-08T12:20:00.000-07:00

An early morning trip to Farmer's Market yielded a lug of apricots and a lug of Red Haven peaches...for half price! We'll eat the firmest fruit and use the rest for jam making. That may not happen until tomorrow since I forgot to pick up more sugar while I was in town. Red Havens are supposed to make delicious jam. They have red streaks in the flesh that aren't that obvious when eaten fresh, but are supposed to make cooked jam a beautiful color. Leaving the skin on also adds to the color. Today, the lady I bought these from also said jam made from Red Havens doesn't darken as quickly as other peach jam. The last couple of years I have made mostly freezer jam, but this year I'll be doing more cooked jams to save freezer space.

Oatmeal

2009-07-07T18:57:00.000-07:00

I made too much oatmeal this morning. Thanks to Google I found some recipes to use it up. The first experiment, um, I mean, recipe was Leftover Oatmeal Muffins. They were a hit. In fact, several went missing before the photos were taken!

it's hard to make leftover oatmeal look good, but the girl did it

I added a few extra ingredients: flax nuggets, golden raisins, unsweetened coconut and cinnamon

ready to go in the oven

48 perfect mini muffins

cooking for an audience is always more fun
all photos by Ashley

Summer is Here.

2009-07-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

Chocolaty two year old eyes peaking through the window of his new barn. Photo by Ashley, the big sis.

It finally seems like summer around here. Of course, that has nothing to do with the heat. It's been hot for a while. I was so eager for summer, but when the thermometer inches up past one hundred degrees, I lose my enthusiasm. With the morning sickness finally subsiding I am ready to focus on enjoying this summer with my husband and children. I just want to soak up every moment with them. Last year was a blur. My dad died in May and we all just got by the best we could. It is still hard. Some days it's actually harder than when it first happened. I frequently hear, "I miss Grandpa" from teary-eyed little ones. One of the blessings is that it affords us many opportunities to tell stories and remember. Some days are better than others.

We are in the midst of birthday season around here. And, yes, it is a season. All five of our children were born in June and July. Our oldest just turned sixteen, the baby just turned two, and by mid-July we'll have a fourteen year old and two nine year-olds. This new baby will be our first autumn baby. We are all so excited. The children are clamoring to know what it is. They can't wait. There's a certain girl who keeps telling me that she has things to sew, so she needs to know.

So, we are finding many things to celebrate and enjoy this summer. Expecting a new baby, warm weather birthdays, home grown tomatoes (not yet, but soon!), fresh goat milk, a kind and beautiful girl with a growing interest in photography, a son who barbecues at least as well as his daddy and grandpas (and loves it!), almost nine year olds who are full of wonder and who keep bringing me rocks and bugs in jars, and a lovey little two year old who asks for his daddy, his sissy, and each one of his brothers every day when he wakes up. And we all especially enjoy that when you tell him daddy is at work, he insists daddy is, "mow lawn!" Life is good.

Every good giving and every perfect gift is from above , and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17 the Geneva Bible

Blueberry Pie Refashioned Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-05-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

Blueberry Pie Refashioned Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

...and this one too.

Vintage Wedding Refashioned Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-05-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

Vintage Wedding Refashioned Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

I'd love to win this for my daughter...

Conversations

2009-05-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

Mama asks Sam (the almost 2 year old): What's for dinner?

Sam: Noo Noos! (that's toddler for noodles)

Mama: No, were having Dirty Rice for dinner.

Sam (with a concerned look on his face): Noo Noos!

Mama (laughing): No, Dirty Rice.

Sam (smiling): Noo Noos!

Mama sighs, then kisses the chubby little face.

A moment later...

The girl says (while thumbing through a cookbook): I want a crepe pan...

Mama thinks: I want you to have a crepe pan...

Mama remembers: She was only eight when she declared that she wanted to make crepes...Daddy went to Google to help her find a recipe...she made crepes, on her own, with a little supervision for safety's sake...and they were so good...where has all the time gone?

Two Important Birthdays

2009-05-22T17:24:00.000-07:00

If you like boxing, theology or science, go here. If you like all three, watch it again.

Loose Teeth Vintage Inspired Sundress with Petticoat GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-05-19T20:12:00.000-07:00

Loose Teeth Vintage Inspired Sundress with Petticoat GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Milk Weed Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-05-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

Milk Weed Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

A Little Color in My Future

2009-05-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

How do you cheer up a woman whose morning sickness is getting much worse? Well, if you are a wise husband you ask her to peel herself off the sofa
and come look at the fabric she just won. Jamie over at Pretty Ditty gave away
some Kona Cotton and I am one of the grateful recipients. Thanks Jamie! I
think all those beautiful colors would be just right for a wee baby quilt.

Beauty and Simplicity

2009-05-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

A midweek stomach bug for mom and a Saturday night fever for a little one sure puts things in perspective.

Here's to a simple and beautiful Mother's Day...

Beauty

Simplicity

Full

2009-05-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

A bridal shower, a pregnancy, a house guest, a death, a funeral, a miscarriage, a wedding, a trip, another wedding, birthdays, an anniversary and all the dailiness of life sandwiched in between has made the first 125 days of 2009 seem like a full year. And now, a new little life grows inside me once again. The morning-but-it-gets-worse-as-the-day-goes-along sickness is great news my daughter keeps reminding me. God is good indeed.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T11:26:00.001-08:00

December 23

2008-12-22T15:53:00.001-08:00

Here's a little of what went on around here yesterday...hunting for bugs...showing off your treasure to Mom...napping...waking up...making beef stroganoff...sewing Christmas jammies...a simple day at home.

December 21 A Quiet Sunday

2008-12-21T16:43:00.001-08:00

December 13

2008-12-13T16:19:00.001-08:00

I headed off to Farmer's Market this morning with my husband and our oldest and youngest sons. That meant our eight year old boys were having some fun at home with their big sister. I surprised the boys with some giant maple leaves I found near the market and they surprised me with some handmade Christmas ornaments and crafts. What a blessing a crafty older sister is! Then they all proceeded to start diminishing the supply of kiwis we brought home. Unfortunately you can't see the face on the little clotheline man. I took a close up but it was blurry. He has a cute little hand drawn face, springs for hands and a skunk hat stolen, um, I mean borrowed from Daniel Boone. Everyone is lighting the tree and we'll start putting the ornaments on soon. We're having corned beef and cabbage for dinner. Yum! We bought the biggest cabbage I've ever seen today at Farmer's Market. Maybe that'll be tomorrow's photo. It's a good day!

December 11 On the Farm

2008-12-11T12:38:00.000-08:00

These are the new additions to our farm. My husband and two of our sons brought them home last night. They are cute. But did I mention we are trying to downsize? Hmmm. Basically, we have been rethinking our goals for this farm a lot lately. And by lately I mean for about a year. When we bought our first goats we had two purposes in mind. First, to provide the children with farm chores beyond taking care of a dozen hens. Everyone knows farm chores are good for children, right? The other idea was to sell them. After much thought, prayer, trial and error we are going to focus on producing things that we use or consume. Milk. Eggs. Meat. Vegetables. Fruit. We want enough milk for drinking and to make yogurt, soap and cheese. We dried up our milking doe last month and have missed the milk even though we weren't getting much. So, a goat due to kid soon seemed in order. Lo, and behold we found one! Here she is...

This is Dove. She is a pregnant La Mancha who was bred to a Boer (meat goat). She's due in about a month. We'll have fresh milk again! She is tame and sweet.

This is Merry and her kids. A buckling and a doeling. They are adorable. These are Boers which are meat goats. They were purchased by our oldest son who has wanted meat goats for a while. He's planning on keeping the doeling to breed later and will be selling the buckling around Easter time.

The boy is the one eating. Typical!

December 10

2008-12-10T10:10:00.000-08:00

A mama knows what her baby is thinking, right? Every morning this little guy is thinking, "You guys aren't getting outside without me!" So, every morning he gets bundled up and ready to go greet the goats and chickens and ducks. And the dogs. Don't forget the dogs, Mama. This morning the zipper on his coat nipped his neck a bit. Tears and crying followed. A good rubbing of coconut oil from Mama didn't even help! But when big brother asked if he wanted to go see the chickens, that was that. He was ready to go.

December 9

2008-12-09T17:49:00.000-08:00

Our home is old so the floors in every room are slanted. This suits me just fine since I love old houses. But I may need to start leaning when I take photos.

December 6

2008-12-06T16:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was busy busy with no time for the computer. There was time for some photography though. My daughter and I took some engagement photos for some friends. I would definately like a new camera. My nice camera is a Canon 35mm. I love it but finding black and white film wasn't easy and then Costco wouldn't develope it anyway. Sigh. I should get a digital camera. Really. Someday. Today my husband and I stopped by to see Bryan (one half of the sweet engaged couple) and he made me the yummiest drink. Are you ready? Pumpkin Hot Chocolate. Delicious. And make no mistake. My cup was totally empty by the time I got home. And I just happened to have a mini pumpkin for a cute photo op. Nice.

December 4

2008-12-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

more marshmallows please

My internet was down all day so I am getting my photo posted by the skin of my teeth as my Granny would say. Honestly none of my pictures turned out well today. Oh well, that's how it goes. Today is my husband's Friday so we had breakfast for dinner and are watching WALL-E with the children. So, off the computer and to the sofa for snuggle time. Goodnight!

December 3

2008-12-03T14:49:00.001-08:00

muddy handprints

future warmth

a place to sit

pumphouse

cock-a-doodle-doo

paper chain

winter vegetables

creative little hands

babycakes

December roses

"babycakes" and "creative little hands" taken by my daughter

December 2

2008-12-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

finding our way to Treasure Island

a little apple picked by a little hand

It seems like every time I sit down at the computer there is a little person who needs me or who wants to make something with me. So that is just what I'll be doing the rest of the month. Baking, making, hugging, walking, collecting: rocks, twigs and the sort for our nature shelf, hand-holding, singing, reading, sewing, glittering, baking (that one deserves to be mentioned twice, right?)...all with little, and not so little, people. I'll be chronicling our month by participating in the December Photo Project.

Pie Count For The Day

2008-11-27T09:29:00.000-08:00

2 pumpkin

1 pecan

2 cherry (made by my mother-in-law)

2 chocolate (made by my mom)

2 lemon (also made by my mom)

1 apple-cranberry cake

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T07:22:00.000-08:00

Here Is Love

2008-11-23T14:33:00.000-08:00

This is one of the hymns we sang in church this morning...

Here is love, vast as the ocean,
Loving-kindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten,
Throughout Heav'n's eternal days.

On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God's mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And Heav'n's peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.

Let me all Thy love accepting,
Love Thee, ever all my days;
Let me seek Thy kingdom only
And my life be to Thy praise;
Thou alone shalt be my glory,
Nothing in the world I see.
Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me,
Thou Thyself hast set me free.

In Thy truth Thou dost direct me
By Thy Spirit through Thy Word;
And Thy grace my need is meeting,
As I trust in Thee my Lord.
Of Thy fullness Thou art pouring
Thy great love and power on me,
Without measure, full and boundless,
Drawing out my heart to Thee.

by William Rees & Robert Lowry, 1876
translated from Welsh by William Edwards, 1900
Public Domain

The 8 Year Olds Are On A Roll

2008-11-22T16:40:00.001-08:00

While putting some our Stuff Mart things away our other 8 year old says (about a couple of gallons of distilled water that I bought), "What is that? Stagnant water?"

It's funny around here. Seriously.

Giraffe Horses

2008-11-22T14:41:00.000-08:00

On the way into town with the whole family...

Dad says, "Look, they're plowing."

Our youngest 8 year old son says, "Yes, with giraffe horses."

Laughter...

15 year old daughter (the horse lover) says, "those are draft horses."

8 year old son says, "oh" but doesn't sound convinced.

From now on I will always think of them as giraffe horses.

When I am a little old lady taking Sunday drives with my great-grandchildren I will point out the giraffe horses and they will all think I am losing it.

Gratitude

2008-11-20T06:05:00.000-08:00

It was dark when I rose from bed this morning. So dark it seemed too dark to ever become day. But daylight comes anyway. Slowly. Surely. The noonday sun doesn't just come upon me in haste. As the light comes the darkness recedes. That is what I'm hoping for. To exchange gladness for sorrow. For mourning to become joy. To be satisfied with His goodness. To be radiant over the goodness of the Lord. I confess, I have wandered more than I wondered. I have been easily angered instead of amazed at the goodness of the Lord. I have tasted bitterness instead of tasting the goodness of the Lord. He is good. He is good. I hear it. Those same words spoken again and again by the man the Lord gave me to be my husband. Again last night he reminded me. God is good. In Him, there is joy and peace. He is the Giver of all good gifts. Choose to be grateful he said. Give thanks. Give thanks. Reminders are good. Will I listen to the voice that says to lay down and sorrow forever? Or will I listen to other voices that remind me to consider God's goodness? Today, I will listen. Today, I will start my list. I will remember I have much to be grateful for. I will give thanks.

It Smells Lovely Here

2008-11-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

I've taken too long to share about my candle and melters I won in this giveaway. They came a while back, but today was the first day I actually lit the candle. It, and the melters, smell wonderful. Normally I wouldn't pick a fruity scent, but gave the Applejack & Peel a try for one of the melters. I love it! The other fragrances are Harvest and Christmas Splendor. They smell lovely too. And the candle, you ask? Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls. Yum. Perfect for the holiday season. I used to always have scented candles on hand and burned them almost daily. I may have to get into that habit again.

Breakfast

2008-11-19T07:08:00.000-08:00

Field Trip

2008-11-18T17:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went on an impromptu field trip to our local tree conservatory. It was an unseasonably warm, clear day. Beautiful. It was the perfect day for picture taking, nature study and soaking up the sunshine.

The man was able to come with us. Those are the best field trips.

The boys dubbed this the camo tree. It's actually a Chinese Pin.

The next three photos were taken by my daughter.

6 Months

2008-11-17T10:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday it was exactly six months ago that my dad died. This has been the hardest year of my life. There has been much change. More than ever before. Some of the change has been gut-wrenching and some has been so good. How's that for real life? Here's something I've thought about lately: most of the people we spend time with these days didn't know me before my dad died. It's odd. In short, I just haven't felt like myself since May 16th.

Books and A Game of Tag

2008-11-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

My friend Laurie tagged me for a book meme. Question: is it pronounced mem or mee-mee? I thought it was mem and then someone else said mee-mee. Which is it? Am I already showing that I am just not good at this type of thing?
Well, here we go!

"Here's how it works: I am supposed to pick up the nearest book with at least 123 pages, turn to the 123rd page, find the 5th sentence, and then post the three sentences immediately after that. "

I already have questions. Do you incluse the 5th sentence? I'm assuming that, no you do not since it says, "the three sentences immediately after that." Just to cover all the bases I am including the 5th sentence. Don't even get me started on whether or not the half-sentence that carries over from page 122 is considered the first sentence or not. Can you tell I am a detail person? Ahem...

"Next in line for a working writer were the "slicks," a number of popular magazines published published on smooth paper, which included The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies' Home Journal, and Collier's. For a time, Liberty, Cosmopolitan, and Redbook also fell into that group. There were a half-dozen others of equal or lesser standing. This was the best paying market. The Saturday Evening Post and Collier's were weekly publications, used a lot of material, and paid excellent prices, but selling to them was not easy."

The other book on my desk is Katrin Cargill's Simple Soft Furnishings. And, yes, I checked out page 123 of that one too. No words at all. Just a photo of a scallop-edged tablecloth. Pretty cute.

Talent

2008-11-15T19:42:00.000-08:00

Oh my, I would love to win this!

Making Your Home A Haven ~ Day 5

2008-11-14T09:53:00.000-08:00

Well, today is the last day of Making Your Home A Haven. Today, the focus is on Inviting and Giving. We're going out of town today in search of a new chair and some new boots for one of our sons. We'll be seeing my mom so I'm taking her a loaf of banana bread I made this morning. Everyone is ready to go so I'd better sign off. Have a great day!

this photo was taken by my daughter

Revisiting Taco Chili

2008-11-13T14:18:00.000-08:00

A couple for things I forgot:

I chop a few (4? 6? 8?) cloves of garlic and throw those in too. You can use garlic powder but don't.

I serve the chili with some or all of these toppings for people to add at their discretion:

grated cheese

tomatoes (when they were coming out of the garden)

sour cream

diced green onions or diced onions

diced green chilies (the kind in a can)

hot sauce of your choice (we always have an assortment on hand)

The easiest side is tortilla chips, but corn bread or tortillas are good too.

Enjoy!

Making Your Home A Haven ~ Day 4

2008-11-13T12:51:00.000-08:00

Fun is the word of the day over at The Homespun Heart. There have been a few challenges but that's just real life, isn't it? Making Your Home A Haven has helped me to focus on some things that get pushed aside but really needed to be done. Today is a pretty low key day around here. My oldest son and I had appointments first thing this morning so we picked up dog food and some groceries on the way home. The children listened to an Adventures in Odyssey during lunch. The rest of the day will be spent on lessons, work (my oldest son cleans a pigeon loft for a man we know), choir (for my daughter) and preparing for tonight. We have some friends (two families) coming over for dinner and dessert. That will be fun. Our children love having company so we have been looking forward to it all week. I'm making taco chili. One friend is bring tortilla chips, the other is bringing corn bread and my daughter made chocolate chip cookies. Yum! I don't use a recipe for my taco chili but I'll give the general instructions in case anyone needs a new crockpot recipe. It's easy!

I use a 6 qt. crockpot but, by decreasing the amounts, you can just use what you have.

Taco Chili

Soak 4-5 cups pinto beans in a crockpot overnight
(do not turn the crockpot on).

Pour the beans into a colander and rinse. Put beans back into the crockpot and cover with water (an inch or two above beans). Turn on high. Basically I just cook my beans on high all day then start to add everything else. Today I will be dumping my beans into a stockpot, boiling them for about an hour and then putting them back in the crockpot. I have had to do this one other time. I didn't start soaking my beans until late last night and that is why. Normally I try to soak beans for two days (I rinse them and change the water after 1 day). OK, enough about beans!

At some point during my day (at least a few hours before meal time) I cook 2 # of ground beef or ground turkey. When done, season with taco seasoning.

Remove (but save) some of the liquid from the beans if it seems like too much.

Put ground meat in with the beans.

Add 2 to 3 diced onions (white for hotter flavor, yellow or red for sweeter flavor).

Add 2 to 4 14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes.

Add 1/2 to 1 bag of frozen corn. I think I use 1/2 of a 16 oz. bag and all of the smaller bag (10 oz.?)

I usually throw in a can of black beans and a can of kidney beans. Right now I only have black beans so I'll put in two of those.

Now season to taste. I usually add more taco seasoning, several tablespoons of cumin, some chili powder (a little at a time), salt (depending on the saltiness of your taco seasoning) and some black pepper. The secret is to taste, taste, taste. Start with a little spice. You can always add more. Add some or all of the leftover bean "juice" (water the beans were cooked in) if it seems too thick or you want it soupier.

Continue to cook on high in the crockpot for at least two more hours.

This can also be made on the stove top.

Tips:

Use what you have and what you like! If you don't have something like frozen corn just use a substitute or leave it out.

Sometimes I have made this at the "last minute" and use canned beans instead of soaking the dried ones.

If you don't care for tomato chunks use tomato sauce instead. Even my non-tomato-eaters in the family love this even with the chunks.

Use the spices you like. Around here we love cumin so we have never put too much of it in anything! Just be careful with things like taco seasoning. They can be salty.

If anyone really needs a recipe for this leave a comment. My mother-in-law made this once when my son was at her house. He suggested we make it and
so one day I just threw things in the crockpot while he tried to remember what was in it. Now it's one of our favorites.

Making Your Home A Haven ~ Photos & Update

2008-11-13T11:57:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of areas that have been tidied and cleaned this week. I ended up moving my desk back under the window where it used to be. Even though I like that much better I now remember why I moved it in the first place. Let me just say that if you place your desk in front of a south facing window you need a window shade. So that is one of my projects for this weekend. I'm planning on making the Swedish roll-up blind or the unlined roman blind from this book. I'm a beginning seamstress so it should be fun. My daughter and I went through all the baby clothes and later I went through the cloth diapers and we put everything into his baby closet. I also moved the little oak dresser his clothes were in and now am using it next to my desk. I promptly filled it with reams of paper and other things that were cluttering up the area. I even moved my calender and my daughter hung a beautiful ceramic cross in its place. This end of the living room still has some clutter but I am just going to keep working on one little section at a time until it's done. I didn't get quite everything done on my daily lists but most day I did some other tasks in their place that just needed to get done. I forgot to take pictures of the baby closet but, trust me, it was a mess!

the first three photos were taken by my daughter

go here to see some before photos

Making Your Home A Haven ~ Day 3

2008-11-12T09:07:00.000-08:00

It is a beautiful day here. It's chilly and clear and I am tempted to spend the day by the wood stove. Maybe another day. When I read that today's theme for Making Your Home A Haven is Cared For my thoughts instantly turned toward my husband and children. These are the precious people and this is the home that God has given to me to care for. I want to do it well. So today my projects include a few things that I know would bless my husband.

Get our routine/schedule down on paper.

Write out reading lists and a few lesson ideas for the rest of November & December.

Organize the baby's clothes and cloth diapers.

Wash, dry, fold & put away 5 loads of laundry.

Inventory bulk food items and baking supplies and make a shopping list.

Make bread.

I'll post some photos from the last couple of days later this afternoon.
Have a great day!

update: What's for dinner? crockpot chicken, salad and corn bread

Veteran's Day

2008-11-11T21:40:00.000-08:00

Head over to my daughter's blog to read about my husband's grandfather. My own grandfather was a paratrooper, one of my uncles served in Korea, another of my uncles was in the navy. That is just a few of the men in my family and my husband's family who have served their country in the armed forces. We are grateful for the freedoms we enjoy because some have sacrificed even their lives.

Making Your Home A Haven ~ Day 2

2008-11-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

Most days do not go exactly as expected. Today was no exception. I woke up at 5:30, read in Psalms and a bit in a book our pastor gave us. Yesterday the baby woke up a very early so I am especially thankful for the quiet hour I had to read and pray today. After that things never really came together the rest of the day. I have had an awful headache all day and I just can't kick it. In spite of that I did get some cleaning done. Remember the messy desk from yesterday? Well, it got a good cleaning and is now officially dust free! BIG thanks goes to my oldest son who handled all the unplugging and plugging in of the many cords. He also put his muscles to work and helped me move that heavy thing. I will say this about today. I am grateful to have been home with my children, headache and all. That statement is really an intro to another post which you'll see soon. Something else that occurred to me today is that had I attempted to Make My Home A Haven ten years ago I would not have handled any setbacks (such as a send-you-to-bed-with-the-blinds-closed-headache) with much grace, if any. I would have been frustrated and impatient with the children and determined to get my everything on my list checked off. A clean desk or sparkling bathroom and a home full of children needing their mama or a husband coming home to a house filled with tension isn't worth it. It isn't right. So today was a quieter day than I expected. It was a day filled with many blessings. My husband was able to take two of the children to their orthodontist appointments, brought home take and bake pizza, spent time outside stacking wood with all the boys, I took a nap with the baby, my daughter made little homemade apple pies and I cleaned my desk (which was #1 on my cleaning list for the day). I am grateful for today and looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll post some "after" pictures. See you then!

Making My Home A Haven ~ Day 1

2008-11-10T14:15:00.001-08:00

It's Making Your Home A Haven week over at The Homespun Heart. Monica really enjoyed when Crystal wrote about this last December so she is inviting others to join her this week. Well, I'm in! It's 2:30 p.m. and my in-laws are coming for dinner in less than three hours, but I can do something, right? For those of you who always have tidy homes when your in-laws come please extend me some grace. I wish I had more time and had known about this earlier, but I am determined to do a little rather than just give up. I want my home to be a place of rest for my family and anyone we invite in. Here's my list for this afternoon:

1. Clear off my desk. This is near our front door and needs to be kept tidy so when we come home or have visitors in no one is greeted with a mess.

2. Clear off the small dresser near my desk. This is where the baby's clothes are kept, but the top is a clutter magnet for sure.

3. Have one of the children clean off the mantle and take the ugly white bucket outside. For some reason we have started using the mantle as a spot to store irons and other things that do not belong up there!

4. Make taco salad with the children and enjoy our visit with Nana and Pops!

5. Later tonight, post my after pictures.

Celebrating New Life

2008-11-09T17:19:00.000-08:00

A sweet couple from our church are expecting a baby girl in January. We celebrated this weekend with the pinkest, girliest baby shower I have been to in a long time. Andi (the mom-to-be's big sis) made everything so beautiful. Here's the cake I made... I even used the mom-to-be's favorite recipe. It was a lovely weekend!

Election Day or A Day Without Cooking

2008-11-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

Most people consider this Election Day. Well, most Americans anyway. Hmmm... some Americans? I thought briefly about writing an election post and realized that my thoughts would echo these thoughts so there isn't much need. I can tell you that on this day in history in 1884 Grover Cleveland (a democrat) defeated James G. Blaine (a republican), in 1952 Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated Democrat Adlai Stevenson and in 1980 Ronald Reagan won the White House defeating President Jimmy Carter. Oh, and in 1922 the entrance to King Tut's tomb was discovered in Egypt. That has nothing to do with elections but we were reading about Egypt this morning in History so I had to throw that one in. I'll be voting later when my husband gets home but I'm already celebrating a little. I realized that I don't have to cook anything today. For breakfast we had cinnamon rolls from a can and orange juice. That isn't our normal fare around here. After eating two I remembered why. They're from a can. I love baking and homemade cinnamon rolls is on my list of things to try soon. My oldest son is responsible for lunch so he heated up some leftover pizza and tonight we are having dinner with our friends. We're bringing dessert but my daughter is making that. That means I have more time to read to the children, kiss little baby toes and maybe have one more cup of coffee with some creamy goat's milk. Enjoy your day and don't forget to vote.

I'm a Winner

2008-11-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

No, I haven't been listening to self help cds. I actually won something! A while back I entered a giveaway that ThistleDew Farm and Clay Hill Farm were doing together. Sometime soon I'll be enjoying some candles and melters from Brandyanne's. I look forward to trying them. Even the names of their scents sound delicious: Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls, Christmas Splendor, Applejack & Peel, Harvest...Hmmm...I'll let you all know which is my favorite. Thanks Terri and Melissa!

November, Meet Paul.

2008-11-01T18:29:00.001-07:00

It's November. Really? It was just October. It is always like that for me. October blends into November quickly and seamlessly. I missed posting my last hurrah for
Mega Memory Month. There was no time yesterday for blogging. Ah, well. This challenge, for me, was a rather quiet one. No hurrah in it. Possibly that had something to do with the text I chose. Another reason is that quiet tasks are just what I need right now. Even though I am still working on committing this portion of scripture to memory I have really considered carefully what I would do to commemorate this challenge. Originally I had wanted to print the chapter on ivory paper and enclose it in a black frame. Just yesterday I decided I would start a scripture memory notebook instead. This is something I have wanted to do for a while and this is just the right time. Since I am still working on Isaiah 53, my plan is to work on chapters 54 and 55 also. My goal is to be able to recite all three chapters by the end of the year. Or by next Easter. Just kidding. Sort of. On, another note, we had a wood stove installed Thursday morning. Our oldest son named it Paul. Check out the name of the stove model in the photo and you'll know why. It is finally cold and rainy here so we are enjoying Paul quite a bit. I'll be spending many mornings close by with my Bible and new scripture memory notebook.

Stay warm,
Angela

The top and bottom photos were taken by my daughter. And for those of you looking closely, halfway through the challenge I decided to memorize Isaiah 53 from the KJV instead of from the Geneva Bible. Something about losing the phrase "acquainted with grief" didn't sit well with me.

Finding My Blog Voice

2008-10-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or is blogging a challenge? I have a whopping thirteen posts so far and already feel things are a bit scattered. For the next few days I'll be considering a few changes. So for the handful of people who read this, stay tuned.

Hiding the Word

2008-10-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

I am still working on remembering Isaiah 53. I do not anticipate being able to recite it from memory by Friday. So I keep reading. I keep laying the black satin ribbon between the pages. I keep longing to open those pages of that book and find quiet for my heart. It is not for knowledge but for knowing. Knowing the Author. The one who writes His law in my heart. The one about whom each of these words was written:

Who will believe our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

But he shall grow up before him as a branch,

and as a root out of a dry ground;

he hath neither form nor beauty: when we shall see him,

there shall be no form that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men: he is a man full of sorrows,

and hath experience of infirmities: hid as it were our faces from him:

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely, he hath born our infirmities, and carried our sorrows,

yet we did judge him as plagued and smitten of God, and humbled.

But he was wounded for our transgressions:

he was broken for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him,

and with his stripes are we healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray: we have turned every one to his own way,

and the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was was afflicted, yet did he not open his mouth:

he is brought as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearer

is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.

He was taken out from prison, and from judgement:

and who shall declare his age? for he was cut out of the land of the living:

for the transgrssion of my people was he plagued.

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no wickedness, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet the Lord would break him and make him subject to infirmities:

when he shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed

and shall prolong his days, and the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many:

for he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore will I give him a portion with the great,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because he hath poured out his soul unto death;

he was counted with the transgrssors, and he bare the sin of many,

and prayed for their trespassers.

Isaiah 53 the Geneva Bible

Farm Blogs and Shameless Linking

2008-10-21T17:34:00.000-07:00

I came across a couple of new farm blogs this evening. Of course I only had time to do this because my sweet daughter is making Chicken Masala for dinner. The masala sauce comes from Trader Joe's but she is making some sort of lentil side dish from scratch and it smells amazing. I am a blessed woman. So, back to farm blogs. I love them. We have a little farm that we are getting up and running and, well, I need encouragement some days. Farming is hard work and we are only doing a bit of all that we hope to do. It can be slow going. It is slow going. So the thought of enjoying candles that smell like Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls while I read farm blogs sounds good to me. So, that's my shameless linking. Go now and win your self a candle. If I don't win, you should. And if you do, think of me.

Monday on Tuesday

2008-10-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a full day.

Two moms.

Ten children.

Lots of laughter.

One chimney sweep with bad (meaning expensive) news.

One dress pattern.

A few yards of fabric.

Nine hungry children.

One pan of homemade macaroni and cheese.

Nine peanut butter cupcakes.

Eating outside in the sunshine.

Lots of laughter.

Nine happy and full children.

Three Dr. Peppers for the two moms and one young lady sewing a dress.

Trying the dress on one more time.

One mom learning to knit.

Nine hungry children.

Snack time! Graham crackers and grapes and limeade, oh my!

Trying the dress on one more time.

One dress almost done.

One happy girl.

One grateful mom.

One helpful friend who gave up her day to come help. Thanks Andi!

Two dads done with work.

Ten hungry children.

Four pizzas.

Lots of laughter.

So, how do I follow up a day like that?

Back to our regularly scheduled program...

A house to clean,

children to enjoy,

laundry to do,

meals to prepare,

books to read,

lessons to do,

learning to take place,

and twelve verses to hide in my heart.

This photo was taken by my daughter.

Treasure Up

2008-10-13T18:58:00.001-07:00

Language is a powerful thing. As I shared before, memorization isn't a strength of mine. My husband on the other hand can recite all of the books of the Bible in order, remember all the words in a McDonald's commercial from the seventies and then sing me a country song. He can also find my keys, means it when he asks me where I last saw them and can locate articles of clothing or shoes that only I wear. He's amazing that way. Here's a question for you though. Is it just me or do most people who are prone to misplacing things find the question, "where did you last see it?" bizarre? If I knew that I could probably find what I'm looking for. Maybe. Last week I started memorizing Isaiah 53:1-4. It's going slowly. My eight year old twins are memorizing the books of the Bible in order and evidently got whatever gene helps you with that from their daddy. I may ask them for tips later. But for now I am changing my strategy. You see, I like knowing why I am doing something. "What is the purpose of that?" is a question I often ask. The word memorize, for me, sounds like drudgery. Memory is a pretty word. Remove a y, add i-z-e and it leaves me cold. So today I opened up Roget's Thesaurus for a little inspiration and changed my attitude. This week I will be committing to memory, bottling up, learning by heart, recording, bearing in mind, treasuring up Isaiah 53:1-8. If I need a little help maybe I'll ask my husband after he sings this to me.

A.A. Milne and Blueberry Muffins

2008-10-08T19:42:00.000-07:00

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing, " he said.

today's photo taken by my daughter

A Quiet Task

2008-10-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

QUIET, n. Rest; repose; stillness; peace.
Our houseguest from this past weekend said to me, "It's so quiet here." And it is. I am blessed to live where, in the early morning hours, there is peace and quiet. Even after the roosters start crowing there is a stillness that lingers for a while.
Today I warmed water for tea and oatmeal. Then I sat down to read and reread the portion of scripture I am committing to memory this month. After reading this yesterday I went over to Ann's to take a look. It seemed like a good time to memorize a passage that is dear to me. So, this morning I started. Then I read this article by John Piper. It's worth reading.

I've Been Waiting For This

2008-10-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

Autumn is my favorite season. It's the one I wait for. It's the one I look forward to. It's when I feel most productive. This is the time of year I want to declutter my house, take things to the Salvation Army and give everything a good scrubbing. So, depending on how you look at it, I am either six months late or six months early for spring cleaning. The first official day of fall can be a bit disappointing where I live. Here's why: the heat. We have hot summers around here and sometimes they just don't know when to go away. Today, though, we woke up to a slightly gray, cool, breezy day. It will still be warm later this afternoon, but we're off to a good start. We even had a very light sprinkling of rain for a brief time this morning. I'll take it.

A Saturday Evening Post

2008-09-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

An entire week has gone by since my last post. It went by quickly. The baby got sick last Saturday night, then my daughter, then me. You know the rest of the story. Everyone got sick. Nothing too bad. Just enough so that each day I kept finding a different child plastered to the sofa. Some of our lessons gave way to audio books. We are all audio book fans here. This week it was Radio Theatre's Les Miserables and Ben Hur. We also had quiet times reading aloud The Story Girl by L. M. Montgomery. At dinner my husband is reading to us from Genesis. This week he also started reading The Swiss Family Robinson. I see some treehouse building in our near future. Reading Aloud is a primary component of our home education experience. I love it. The children love it. The entire time we have educated our children at home my husband has encouraged me to read God's Word to our children. That comes before everything else and reading aloud good literature comes next. Are there days when that hasn't happened? Certainly. But that is the normal order of things around here and if I don't stick to that pattern the children remind me to get back to it. Children are good at that. In some ways it was a hard week. We've had a lot of those since my dad died unexpectedly in May. But there was also an underlying quiet in our home. With five children in the family it's not truly quiet here often. I find that when they are under the weather things are just a bit more subdued around here. My daughter knit and the younger boys quietly built Lego creations while I read to them. My oldest son held the baby. I found myself quite aware of all of it this week. It won't last forever. I keep blinking and they keep growing. I am soaking it all in. The best I can anyway. I am purposing to enjoy this life I've been given. It truly is a gift. Even when things get hard. Even when I really miss my dad. Even when my son says that he wishes Grandpa didn't die. I have much to be grateful for. Some days my heart is swollen with gratitude. Some days I choose to be grateful. This week was a mixture of both.

Saturday's List

2008-09-20T06:12:00.000-07:00

a quiet morning

reading in Psalms while it is still dark

the baby still sleeping

husband and children still tucked in snug

roosters starting to crow

light peeping though the trees

a moment to put some thoughts down

a quiet heart that wants to remain that way

what I'm thinking of...

making coffee and warm muffins for a sleeping family

a waking baby

the sounds of the gentle father who lays baby next to him for an early morning snuggle

how all is quiet again

my husband and oldest son attending the funeral of someone who died so young

missing my dad

farm chores to be done this weekend

new books that arrived this week for our history and science studies

laundry to be done

getting to some yard sales with my daughter and youngest boys

not making dinner tonight, my oldest son will BBQ

planting daffodils with my mom and children in a few weeks

praying for...

a grieving family

my mom

my sister and her children

two young couples, each marrying next spring

my sister-in-law and brother-in-law in China

new friends having their first baby in just a few months

a few friends who each hope for a baby of their own

my aunt, battling cancer

my uncle, who is taking care of many things

a man from church who is sick

my cousin, struggling in her fight against leukemia

our pastor and his family

my children, that they would know and love Jesus

the mundane things of life woven in with the tragic and the joyous

my prayer today is that I would be thankful in all things

have a good Saturday

What the Mailman Brought

2008-09-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

We'll be putting the fall garden soon. Spinach, lettuce, peas, carrots, winter squash, garlic, root vegetables. I'm looking forward to harvest already.

Take a Look

2008-09-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

Kim has a great giveaway going on over at her blog. She's giving this away. Head over there and take a look.

A Prayer

2008-09-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

Draw nearer, O my Saviour, to my soul
For Thou art all, and all in all, to me,
Because I feel Thee near I want Thee more,
Because I love Thee would more loving be.

I am so glad in Thee! A single smile
A single glance from Thee, can rapture wake,
That finds no words with which to tell its tale,
And with its joy my heart is like to break.

Draw nearer, nearer yet, reveal Thyself
To me, Thy child, and oh dear Lord, do Thou
If Thou hast any blessings in reserve,
Open Thine hand and give those blessings now.

Thou canst give nothing that I do not need,
For I am very poor, and if I might
Choose for myself, I would not dare to choose,
I am too ignorant to ask aright.

And when I pray Thee to crowd out of me
This monster, Self, and then to enter in
And take possession, as a peaceful Guest,
Do I not ask deliverance from sin?

Do I not ask, within the compass small
Of these few words, all there is to give?
Come then, my Saviour, make Thyself a home
Within this breast, and ever in it live.

Self gone forever, do Thou reign, O Christ,
The Conq'ror of the conquered, and for aye,
Over each spring of action and of thought,
Hold Thou within me undisputed sway!

Elizabeth Prentiss

Welcome

2008-09-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

After a few years of encouragement from my husband and quite a bit of help from my daughter here is the first post at my blog. Yesterday, a friend gave me the nudge I needed by linking to my *empty* blog. I look forward to sharing about my days with my children and some of what we do here on our little farm.