What's working, what's not...

Bread making:

What's working: We are mostly eating the bread I bake myself. I've made whole wheat, rye and honey oatmeal, the family favorite, pictured below. I would like to grind my own wheat as well, and will be saving my pennies to buy a grain mill. I would also like to get Dee's recipe for bagels, because I've stopped buying them and the kids are missing them.

What's not: I have yet to get far enough ahead in my baking to freeze any and so have run out and had to buy bread twice. Making 2 loaves at a time is not quite enough, but it's what I can do with the kitchen aid right now.

Garden:

What's working: Squash, zuchini and cherry tomatoes.

What's not: Big tomatoes---they are rotting on the vine before they turn red!

School:

What's working: Scheduled playtimes with Matt by older siblings. That has really made a difference in my day! The day is flowing nicely with less outbursts and fighting than I had imagined. Separate history for Emma and Jon--I was combining them but that was not working well. This way History will alway be at Emma's level, and then Dan will hopefully tag along.

What's not: My schedule nicely laid out on paper in half hour increments...the spirit of the schedule is there, but if Matt's nap goes beyond 3pm I'm not necessarily going to wake him, etc.

Cameras:

What's working: Andrew's camera has been working overtime to take the landscape shots he is so good at.

What's not: My own camera...I think it might be dying.

Walking:

What's working: Still love walking early in the a.m. I usually am able to do it 6 days a week, and I recently discovered that what I thought was 1 mile of walking was actually close to 2! I couldn't understand why it was taking me so long to walk a mile! I know I'm not physically fit, but.....

What's not: Staying up late and trying to get up early in the morning. I'm trying to fit in some chores and relaxation time after the kids go to bed, but it's taking a bite out of the sleep I think my body needs, and I'm sleepy around 1pm. I know I need to go to bed earlier, but I so enjoy that time in the evening when the house is quiet...

18 years and counting

To celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary, Ken took me to Historic Deerfield in Massachusettes. We celebrated a little early so that we could leave the kids with Oma and Grandpa, since they will be returning to NM before our actual anniversary in September. It was the perfect place to go for many reasons. It was quiet and peaceful, close to home, and Ken could do some research for the restoration project he's working on as the town is full of 18th and 19th century homes that have been restored.

We stayed overnight at the Deerfield Inn.. (apologies for the picture quality, they were taken with my cell phone...)

in a beautifully furnished room that made us feel like we had stepped back into the mid 1800's.

The people there were extremely nice, and the sitting areas were truly lovely...

We spent a day and a half enjoying each other's company and the gorgeous weather, having uninterrupted conversations (!), and touring the restored homes along the mile long block. The stories of the homes we visited were fascinating. Ken even talked with a fellow contractor who was working on the tavern home and got to peek at the construction going on there.

It was a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively.

This trip marks the end of summer vacation for me. On Monday I plan on jumping into the school year. Just writing those words gives me butterflies...I am grateful for these last few months of visiting family, special occasions, trips away from home...and now it is time to get back to some routine...which is different, but also good.

Turning over a new leaf...

This summer I've been doing alot of thinking and praying about the coming school year. Homeschooling a 9th grader, 4th grader, and 2cd grader while caring for a preschooler and toddler seems a daunting task which will only be possible if I try to keep to a fairly strict schedule. I've been reading Teri Maxwell's book Managers of Their Homes and it's been very helpful to me as I think about structuring my days. One of the things she stresses in there is the need to have a consistent quiet time to pray and read your Bible. It's one of those things I've heard and read so many times--to the point of feeling annoyed when I read it again. I have struggled to have a consistent quiet time for many years but it has seemed impossible to do with young children and babies who are up many times a night and awake early in the morning. I am not a morning person, and getting up early is very hard for me...but as I put together my schedule I could see that early in the morning was the only time I would be able to consistently set aside time to read and pray. So, for the last few weeks I have been turning off my alarm at 5:50 am (yes, I can hear you early risers chuckling at me...you've probably aready had your coffee and done some laundry by then....), and I get dressed and go for a walk with our dog, Sassy. And while I walk I pray, and think, and listen. It's lovely. The air is cool, the sun is rising, the birds are singing...though there have been mornings I have walked in the rain, and that was ok, too. To think I've been sleeping this time away for so many years, what a shame! I feel physically stronger, closer to the Lord, and I've come to look forward to my walks. Some days it's hard for me to pull myself out of bed, but I'm always glad I did.

Many hands make light work..

So, in my quest to make use of the endless zuchini and squash that is multiplying in my garden, I was (again) baking zuchini muffins this morning. I put Matthew on the counter next to the mixing bowl, which seemed a better option than trying to move through the kitchen with a crying toddler stuck to my legs. He helped stir the batter, and was so happy to be helping. I turned my back to instruct the other children who were chopping nuts for me with my P***pered Ch*f chopper, and when I looked back, Matthew had dumped a half of a box of baking soda into the batter! And had started to stir! Thankfully, Andrew and I were able to scoop most of it out...but Emma's muffin had a bad after taste so I don't think we got it all. Oh well. He also managed to throw in the little container of cloves and a wooden spoon while my back was turned...and who knows what else, that's all I actually found.

Anybody want a muffin?

Happy Birthday, Jonnybe!

Nine years ago today God blessed us with another little boy to love. I'll never forget the overwhelming awe I felt as I held him an rocked him, just knowing that he was truly sent from heaven. I don't have the technology to show you a picture of him as a baby, but here he is today...

He's a Jesus loving, football playing, trampoline jumping, brother wrestling young man, and he still likes to kiss his mom! Happy Birthday, Jonnybe!

~Thank God for football~

Jon is finally getting his wish...to play real football on a real team with real tackling and helmets and pads and.....For the next 2 1/2 months he will be suiting up 4 times a week for 2 1/2 hour practices and one game. That means much driving to and from the field, rearranging dinner time, missed opportunities for visiting or hospitality and mid-week meetings at church. But I'm not complaining, not by a long shot. I had a feeling that playing football for him is more than just a fun time to spend an evening, but it was confirmed the other night when his coach stopped me to tell me how impressed he was with Jon. Don't worry, I will not make you suffer through a proud mom soliloquoy. I do, however, want to brag on God a little. When Jon was a toddler, he would get so focused on what he was doing or on what he wanted that there was no distracting him. We dealt with daily temper tantrums, sometimes more than one, that would go on for hours (I am not exaggerating) and would leave him and us exhausted and teary. There were times I would despair, wondering what I was doing wrong. And then there were times when by faith I just knew that this personality trait was there because God put it there, and someday it was going to bring God glory. Our job was not to beat it out of him, so to speak, but to mold it and shape it and pray over it and even nurture it to some extent. To know him now, you would never guess the turmoil we went through back then, but he is still a very focused young man. Which brings me back to what the coach said the other night. "He's so focused." Those were the words he used. And this time it is a good thing. Jon stands out in the coaches mind because of the very trait that was so hard to weather 5-6 years ago! "He's a real asset to the team." Isn't God good?
Jon told me after practice last night this is the hardest thing he's ever done. So I asked him, "Do you still like it?" He said, "I love it!" He went on to say that football is not just about fun, but hard work. The biggest thing he's learning from football? In Jon's own words, "self-discipline."

Thank God for football.

The wisdom of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

Mrs. Piggle- Wiggle is a book I'm reading to Emma. It's quite humorous and I highly recommend it to anyone with a child between the ages of 5-10. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is a woman in a neighborhood who loves to have children over and helps the parents cure things such as answer-backism and fighter-quarellers syndrome. In this excerpt, Mrs. Thompson has called Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle for some help in curing selfishness in her little boy, whose name is Dick. The conversation goes like this:

"Hello Mrs. Thompson, I have rather expected you to call."

Mrs. Thompson said, "You have? Why?"

"Because I know Dick very well," said Mrs. Piggle- Wiggle, " and although he is a dear little boy and the most well-mannered child who comes to visit me, never once forgetting to say Thank You and Please, he is very selfish."

"Oh, I know he is. I know he is," said Mrs. Thompson, almost crying because she was so ashamed that Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle should know how selfish Dick was.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle said, "Now Mrs. Thompson, do not feel sad. Selfishness and greediness are just diseases like measles and chickenpox and can be cured very easily but we must start now, before another day passes, because Dick is such a nice little boy and we want everyone to like him as we do."

"Oh, do you like him, in spite of his selfishness?" asked Dick's mother.

"Of course I do," said Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. "I love all children...."

I love how the good in the boy is not overshadowed by the flaw.

I love how the flaw does not define the child.

I love how she wants to protect the child from the criticism of others.

I love how she loves the child in spite of the flaw.

I believe this is an example of hating the sin, but loving the sinner. Which we usually equate to loving an unbeliever. But all of us fall short. There is none perfect. I need this kind of love, and so do you. Our kids need this kind of love. Our spouses need this kind of love. Our leaders and our parents and our neighbors and our grandkids need this kind of love.

You're a wise woman, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.