Spring is here!

Spring is here! Oh my goodness! The days have flown by! We started in January and February with such lofty goals! Wood chips were hauled in, the garden mapped out, seeds ordered. And then something very unexpected happened.... I found out I was pregnant! And everything came to a screeching halt!

God seems to have this way of keeping me leaning into Him and His strength. Just when I think I might be able to plan life a couple months in advance, He gently reminds me that He has called me to live moment by moment with Him. His ways are not my ways, His thoughts are higher than my thoughts. Of course there are plans and dreams in life, but they must be held loosely and surrendered to the Lord daily to see how He will sift them and redeem them for His glory. 

One of the places that I find direction for life and rest for my soul is out back in the garden and greenhouse. Though I have been very tired and not feeling too well, I have tried to capture moments in the week to plant seeds and prepare for May, my goal for getting the garden in. 

My favorite gift ever from my Honey.
(It was a Harbor Freight greenhouse that he and a buddy set on a base
so it would feel a little more roomy inside. I love it!)

This little greenhouse is often my place of solitude. It is been a place where I find room to pray think quietly as the children play nearby. It is a place my husband and I can enjoy a short morning date with coffee, and where my children come to spend time learning about horticulture and share sweet conversations as we start seedlings or transplant. 

The hoops you see are my overflow from the greenhouse. It is where I can place my cold weather veggies until it warms up a bit and I am ready to plant the garden.

We are enjoying the beautiful weather and embracing this new life God has blessed us with. We are thrilled and waiting on Him to reveal His ways for our little family this year.

The Newest Addition to Our "Farm"

Do all kids love getting new pets as much as ours do? My husband brought this sweet bunny into our dining room on Sunday evening as a surprise to the kiddos. He sat down on the floor with all four children huddled around him in pure delight!

We were not looking for a bunny. I had never even really considered a bunny... until I received a phone call asking if we would be interested in a sweet bunny, cage and all....oh, and he even came with a bunny harness! Yes, that's right a harness for walking the little guy around the yard! Suddenly, I had this secret little hope that my honey would say yes!

He did, of course, and we are now the proud owners of the sweetest, biggest, bunny I have ever known. (That may not be saying much because I really can't say I have seen my fair share of bunnies in life. But, he does seem really big to me!)

We have had him for two days now and have taken him for several "walks." I would have to say that the picture above is a little misleading. The bunny has had one sudden burst of energy, that I know of, and I happened to capture it on film. It is more like a hop, hop, hop, sit...... sniff..... look around and think about hopping.... then yep, we're gonna go for it.... hop, hop, hop. whewph. Time to sit and nibble on some sweet grass. I am not quite sure what I had in mind when I pictured us all going for a walk together?....But thinking about the reality of what it really looks like just makes me laugh.

It has been so fun. His pace is perfect for my three year old. But I have noticed my ten year old enjoying the peace and quiet shared by just slowing down and hanging out with him too.  

He definitely wasn't on my wish list. 

But now that we have him, I am thrilled he is here.

A Very Special Day

My heart is so full this afternoon, as I think about the truly sweet Valentine’s Day we shared as a family yesterday. My kids had spent quite a bit of time up in the girls’ room this week with a card table, construction paper, glue sticks, heart punches, and glitter pens. I was not allowed to peek, though I did get glimpses of pink and purple paper piled high in their work area… and all over the floor. I cringed a little at the thought of what the clean-up process might be like and then quickly reminded myself that it was worth it. Just hearing them all whispering together about the beautiful masterpieces they were creating filled my heart with joy.  Big sisters were helping little brothers write out their special messages to their parents. Plans were being discussed for the big day. All four of them were working together with the utmost excitement. So I quieted my critical thoughts and soaked in the hushed voices of my sweet kiddos.

Valentine’s morning came and I lay there in bed listening to excited little whispers chattering about the big surprise. Dishes were clanging, cupboard doors were banging, and I was smiling at the thought of what they were preparing in the kitchen.  After awhile I decided to enter the busy little kitchen and was showered with cut out hearts and greeted with, “Happy Valentine’s Day!” A construction paper crown was placed on my head and giddy little smiles were splashed across my children’s faces. The table was set and the breakfast was out and ready to be made. I felt like a queen of my sweet country castle.

Soon Daddy came home from his drive with my youngest daughter. He had apparently, woke up too early and so the kids decided that my daughter would escort him out of the house to give the other kids enough time to prepare the kitchen and table. When they came home they brought with them one donut to split between the kids and boy were they all excited! We were soon ready to eat, but before we dug into the food, we read our Valentine’s cards that were piled high on our plates.  What a great way to start the day!

The breakfast was wonderful, the day was peaceful, and the night ended with a special treat as well. Once again the kids showered my husband and I with hearts, placed paper crowns on our heads, turned the lights down, and handed my husband his guitar. With bright little eyes they asked if he could play a song we could sing together as a family to end our special day. The only problem was, he doesn’t know any songs that they know... He tried his best but half way through we all broke into the giggles because we sounded so horrible. I had tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard.  It wasn’t quite what the children had in mind, but it was obvious they were having fun and they knew they had blessed us, even though it hadn’t gone quite according to their plan. Soon it was bedtime prayers and kisses and we all thanked God for a very special day!

I will be cherishing these sweet memories in my heart for a very long time!

 My husband and I agreed, it was one of the happiest Valentine’s Days we can remember!

hHope your special day was filled with sweetness too!g

My Sweet Valentine

I wanted to post something today to honor the love of my life. There are so many things I could write about, but because much of the topics written on this blog are relating to homeschooling, I wanted to share just a bit of how he has been a tremendous support in this home education journey.

I have shared before that it hasn't always been easy to feel confident in my teaching abilities. It was especially trying during the days I was nursing, potty training, gardening and trying to maintain some kind of order in what felt like very busy days. My husband would often come home and find me obviously discouraged and at my end. Those were the days I had possibly cleaned up 3+ potty accidents, washed 7+ loads of laundry, wiped up umpteen spills, had only managed to read to the children while feeding the baby, and had no idea what would be served for dinner. 

I would think to myself, "How in the world am I ever going to manage to educate these children, when I can't even keep up with the laundry?!?" I would find myself pouring my heart out to my honey and he would be the encouragement I needed. He was home educated most of his life and has continued to remind me that YOU CANNOT COMPARE what is taught in the schools and how long it takes, to the education that happens at home. I am not saying that the government schools don't teach some valuable information. But the method, goals, and the time it takes are completely different from what we are seeking to accomplish here. Again and again he would tell me I was doing great even though I didn't see it at the time. 

Our children are all potty trained now (Praise the LORD!) and we have entered a new season with a little more time to breath. On most days there is time for school, chores, and fun activities that educate and encourage creativity. My children are evidence that my wonderful husband was absolutely right! They have learned so much and continue to amaze me.  

I am so thankful he was there on the good days and the bad. I am thankful for the grace he still has, to be welcomed home by messy kids and a sometimes disheveled wife and house. I am so thankful he saw past the moments of chaos to the character and creativity that was being invested ever so slowly. My heart is so full of gratitude and I love him so much!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

The Seeds Have Arrived!

All of my seed orders for the year have arrived! I realize it is a little early, but this year I hope to start tomatoes and peppers in the house the first week of March so I figured I better get organized! 

Every year I have ordered seeds, I am always shocked at the total weight! My mind still has a hard time comprehending the idea that what you see in the above picture could actually fill our entire garden with an abundance of produce! This year I decided to weigh it all (minus the onion sets and seed potatoes which we will purchase later.) A mere 1 3/4 pounds has the capability to turn into...? That is the question? I am hoping to find out by keeping record of all that is harvested. But, the results won't be in until late October, after we harvest the last tomatoes, peppers, squash, and pumpkins. So stay tuned!

My Goal as a Mother

Yesterday was a good day. It really was. I was home with my children. We made it through all of the subjects we were supposed to and did so with joy and excitement! We had time to work out issues between siblings and then had the time to engage with each other in positive ways. My oldest daughter even took it upon herself to make a learning board for the boys so that she could teach them letters, shapes, colors, the calendar, and all about the weather! All this took place while I found moments to little by little, work on the housework. 

As a home educating mother I will be honest and say that even though yesterday was full of blessing, there are many times the mess of the house will rob me of the joy that should be felt through it all. It is not my hope to live in a mess, but when we spend so much time at home there are going to be dishes to be done, laundry to fold, school work on the kitchen table, crafts still being created etc. This can be quite jarring to a mother who loves order. So I have written down a reminder on my kitchen sink windowsill to help pull me back to reality and remind me of what really matters. 

"If my goal as a mother is not to have a perfectly clean house and everything in order, but it is to love my children and nurture them... then I will be content at the end of the day if my kids feel loved and cherished, even if my house has "suffered" for it. 

The laundry did eventually get folded, and most of the dishes were washed. Today is a new day to try and complete what wasn't finished yesterday. And if needed, I will remind myself again of what really matters. 

Pillow Slip Dresses

I can't believe it has already been three weeks since my grandparents came over for a lovely afternoon of making sundresses and then staying for dinner. It was absolutely wonderful! My grandma spends many hours sewing pillowslip dresses to send to little girls in different countries and she agreed to teach my daughters how to make them! We were soooo excited. I have read the beginning of the book Kisses for Katie to my girls and it has really opened their eyes to the needs of children in other countries. It was my hope that my grandma would not only teach the girls the joy of sewing, but also share her joy of blessing others by using her talents of sewing sundresses. And that is exactly what happened.

My grandparents arrived and we all got settled into our places. Grandpa watched the boys play with their toys in the living room, while grandma, the girls, and myself busily worked away on our big dining room table. It was our first real big project using my nine year old's sewing machine and it took some time to figure out each step. Thankfully my grandma had the patience of an angel as she encouraged the girls each step of the way. By the time we were done we had transformed a pillow case into an adorable little sundress! We only had time to complete one dress that afternoon but we were ecstatic with being able to have done it.

We enjoyed a simple dinner and laughed about life, some of my grandpa's memories growing up, and some of our stories too. As I look back at our few hours together I feel so blessed to have been able to be part of such a simple afternoon and evening. These are the kind of memories I desire my children to build their lives on. Engaging in meaningful activities, centered around the heart of Christ, while sharing sweet conversations with those they love. My heart is full. We are so blessed.