For Today - First Monday in August

FOR TODAY

Outside my window…  Sunny, blue skies and fluffy white clouds
I am thinking…  Lots of thing rolling around in my mind….  first I need to tackle the mess in our kitchen and plan our lunches for this week. 
I am thankful… Thankful for a good morning during our first morning at VBS.  I have a great group and we all had fun!
In the kitchen… No much, except lots of dishes need washing….
I am wearing… Denim skirt and red tee shirt
I am creating…  At the moment I don’t really have any sewing projects on the go, although I have things I’d like to sew!
I am going…  To work on some chores here in the house and we need to pick beans and cucumbers.
I am reading…  Just the Bible right now, I just finished a book by Jennie Allen called “Anything”  Gave me lots of ponder and think about!!
I am hoping…  For for a few things…. 
I am looking forward to… tomorrow morning at VBS!
I am learning….  that I need to continue to keep pressing on and that Jesus will give me wisdom and strength even when I feel so insecure and inadequate to filful my calling as a mommy.
Around the house…  children are playing for now and baby dear is napping.
I am pondering…  Just finishing up planning for this coming school year. 
One of my favorite things…  A tiny voice saying, “I love you!
A few plans for the rest of the week: VBS each morning and gardening in the afternoons.    Plus school planning for this coming school year and whatever else comes my way.    Keep up to the housework and laundry.
A peek into my day…

First time experience!!

He thought having the clothespin in his hair was funny! He didn’t want me to take it out. Not sure which of his older siblings put it in….

Musings of a Little Girl

The other day my youngest daughter and I were walking to the barn to do the milking. She was telling me about how she was going to be a mom when she grew up and then she could do anything she wanted. I then told her that I couldn't do anything I wanted. If I didn't do the laundry, she would not have clean clothes, if I didn't prepare meals, she would have nothing to eat. She then said that she would do all those things, otherwise she would be a bad mom. Love my little girl!! I think she understood a little bit of how mommys can't just do anything she wants....

I love my beautiful calling....

Summer.....

I know it has been some time since I've last updated here!  The days turn into weeks and the weeks into months and I still haven't taken the time to post.  I need to change that!  This is my journal of sorts and I don't want to forget these precious, yet very busy years.  So I must schedule time each week for my humble blog.  :)

Trying to grow potatoes in a bin this year, I'll let you know how this works come the fall.  :)

 Where to start?????

Well our garden is doing well, thank you Lord!  We have been harvesting beans and pickling cukes.  I have peas, but here's a very honest moment from me...  I know the peas are ready, but I haven't even taken the time to pick them.  They fell over and that is the only patch of the garden that is weedy.  I've come to think that peas are not worth the time it take to pick and shell and then you have just a tiny bowl to show for it.  So next year I'll just plant a row and trellis them right away and just enjoy them for eating.  That all said, I'm hoping to pick them tomorrow.  :)  I just have a couple rows.....

Beans are doing really well, I have many large ziplock bags full in the freezer and I've also pickled a few.  Yum!!

Pickling cukes have doing well and so far I have close to 60 jars.   No signs of dying back yet.....

Right now as I write up this post I'm up cooking a large pot of relish!

Everything else is growing well and we are staying up top of the weeds.

So that is a garden update....

Garden from the front porch.....

I'll save other updates for the next few posts.....  For now I must take care of the relish!

A Walk In Our Woods

A couple of weeks ago now, the boys and I went for a walk in our woods.  It was such a delight to see green, splashed with colour here and there.  I love the season spring!!  So much new life....

We were walking along the path leading to our woods, when all of a sudden a duck flew out of the grass. We soon saw this nest! I just checked on this nest a couple days ago, and mama duck is still sitting on her clutch. I was surprised to find this nest here, I thought they would nest closer to the pond.

Me and two of my boys.... :)

These are the boys that came on the hike. :) Baby Dear was napping. :)

Pretty violets

Pretty yellow violets

Jack-in-the-pulpit...

This fern is almost as tall as me, mom! :)

Interesting fungi...

Beautiful apple blossoms..... The trees are loaded out back!

Lovely meadow, so peaceful... :)

The purpose of our walk was to go and see if the trilliums were blooming. We found some, but they were not as plentiful as it has been in years past. They were still lovely and we enjoyed a great walk!

Here in the house, we've been busy planting in the garden and getting school work done.  One son is just about finished for the summer, the other one has a bit more to do, but it shouldn't take too long.  I'll post an update on life here next week.

Blessings!!

Just a note....  I've been slowly working on creating a new blog at wordpress...  Here it the link...

A Beautiful Calling At Harmony Acres

May 1 - Wordless Wednesday

Happy Homemaker Monday - Last Monday in April

Click on the above picture to join right in.  :)

The weather:
Cloudy and rainy today with a high at 18C.

Right now I’m….
Washing lunch dishes, but I’m finishing up this blog post first.
On my reading pile:
Not much, studying the book of Luke right now with Good Morning Girls, TrueWoman101,

On my TV:
No tv here….
On the menu for the week:

I don’t plan the menu for the whole week, but it is something I want to start doing.

Blog hopping (newly discovered blog)….


On my To Do List:
Finish homeschooling for the day – two are done, just our oldest has to finish 
Clean out our minivan
Fold last week’s laundry
Tidy master bedroom

In the craft basket:
Matching quilts for the boys
curtains for the bedrooms
Couple skirts for youngest daughter

Looking forward to this week:
Home school convection this weekend!!
Meeting a missionary family we support at church, they are coming home for a number of months
Looking around the house:
Right now little ones are playing nicely with the legos, Baby Dear must be hungry and ready for lunch, because he is taking food items out of the pantry cupboard.  Two oldest sons are doing school.

Favorite the camera:
I just had to share two today… 

On my Prayer List:
Family, Missionaries, wisdom as a homeschooling mom, wisdom to raise/train our children for the Lord

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

Luke 13:10-17

Muffins, Cleaning & More

 Just an important note, I'll be blogging over here soon.  

I don't have the blog quite ready, but once it is, I'll let you know!  :)

Here I'm sitting again at the computer while my bread sponge is rising again in the bosch.  Hopefully, I don't forget it like last time!   We can honestly say we have no bread in the house, so I must bake if the girls are going to have bread for their school lunch tomorrow.  :)
Today, we enjoyed a cozy day in the house while outside it rained most of the day, which then turned to snow.  Thankfully the snow is not staying, but that wind is cold!  My seed order was delivered right to our front door this morning by the mailman, so now I'm itching to get my hands in the soil.  According to the weather forecast warmer weather is coming back.  :)

A little boy disappointed that he was not able to go out and play today. He loves the outdoors!

School wise, the day was ok.  Had some rough moments, but also some moments worth more than gold.  :)  I caught up on some ironing too while helping one son do his math, so that was good!  We have a goal of being done school for the summer by the first of June.  Although, I am planning to have the boys do one page of math about 3-4 days a week.  Our oldest son really struggles with math and so I would hate to lose it all during the summer.  We shall see how it goes....
Just before supper, I made up some muffins, using the recipe below.  I was just about ready to fill the muffin cups, when I realized I had used way too much butter.  I used enough for 4 recipes, not 2.  So out came more ingreds. and I ended doubling the recipe times 4.  First time I made the recipe and they are so delicious!!  Good thing, because four recipes made just over 4 dz.  :)

Mmmmm….. look at those delicious muffins!

Chunky Apple Muffins

• 1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and quartered
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (omit if serving to children under 3)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put muffin papers in muffin tins or spray tins with oil and set aside. Cut 3 apple quarters into 1/4-inch dice; cut remaining apple quarter into 12 thin slices for garnish.
2. Whisk together sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add diced apple and walnuts, if using; toss to coat.Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and butter in a small bowl. Gently fold buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Top each with an apple slice. Bake until muffins are brown around edges and spring back when touched, 16 to 18 minutes. Let muffins cool slightly, about 5 minutes, before turning out of tin onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

My kitchen was a real mess this evening and here's proof.....

Now that looks much better!! It will be a lovely sight in the morning too.  :)

Bread rising in the oven, although now it is baking.  :)

A lovely stack on muffins!  Wonder how long they will last...  I keep hearing how delicious they are.  :)

Well, I’m off to read a story to the children before bed time.  We are reading “Because of Winn-Dixie”, it’s a cute story.    It was a good day here.  God is faithful and oh, so good!

Wordless Wednesday... Sweetness...