The Joys Of Family and Hearth

So the Mr. has been working extra side jobs for the past few months. And while we are Thankful to God for the extra income, we have been super busy with it all. So for the Mister's birthday we decided to spend a day away.   So last Friday, we had planned  on getting everything all ready and packed when we had an extended family emergency.  The Mr. had landed another side job that he was sure he would have done Friday night, but as circumstance would have it. It wasn't done until mid Saturday morning.  I'd say around 11am Saturday morning we finally were headed out to our favorite place to be. Lancaster County.  We arrived to the our camper, made sure the heat was working and did a quick set up. We can only stay one night b/c we have no access to water right now at the campground.  But that's OK, we only needed one night/day to spend as a family and get some good quality time in. :) We went for dinner, did a Wal-Mart run and the back to campe...

Fourteen years ago today... On a Superbowl Sunday..we welcomed our second child, and first born son Matthew James in to this world. Matt had a bit of a rough start in life. He was extremely jaundice and needed to be kept under the bililights for a week straight! After that he struggled with a herniated belly button and severe colic. There were many of nights where we just drove his little butt all around town! The car was the ONLY thing that soothed him. :) Today...... He is a handsome, hard working, always on the go, MacGyver, fix everything, type of kid. He's extremely hands-on, and can pretty much fix, take apart and put back together anything he gets his hands on!! (That comes from Big Daddy) Super funny, and fun-loving. Not spontaneous at all!! Yet super creative! He is the love of his little sisters life. She adores him, and when she was born he "claimed" her as "his".  They have a beautiful brother/sister relationship! Even tho.. Matt can be gru...

I've been pondering this topic for a few weeks now.  My dryer has been out of commission for about a month now. On a typical day I do 4 load of wash! So you can imagine the pile up. :) Lucky for me we've been having a pretty mild winter. More nice days then not nice days.  So the clothes line has been in good use. Hanging laundry for me when I'm alone is so peaceful. I thank God for the clothes, I thank God for the children who are wearing them. Sometimes I get helpers or just little ones who wanna chat with me while I hang. :) Since the Mr. and I are pretty frugal, and he has purchased a few replacement parts already. But we haven't solved the issue. The Mr. wants it done as in yesterday... I am enjoying not having the dryer. I love to hang stuff on the line, and when it's yukky out, I've been using indoor drying racks. Purchased at Wal-Mart but Made in the USA!!!!!  I would love, love, love, one of these....http://www.homesteaddryingracks.com/  but haven...

So, the other day was a typical winter day here! Finally!!! We've been having such a mild winter this far. It was nice to have some snow, unfortunately it turned to sleet/rain. However, it was a stay at home, craft, be lazy, be together type of day. So Big Daddy and I headed out to the grocery store from something to stick in the crock pot! and then the rest of day was ours. Ashley and I worked on this Victorian Kissing Ball for HOURS!!!!!!  We finished right before supper and below is our dinner.. brisket, cabbage, potatoes, carrots and onions. The Little kids spent the day working on crafts, reading and watching movies. : Blessings~~

Cold rainy winter days sleeping kitty's in window sills a full day of school completed warm soup for lunch a daughters laughter while her friend visits hot tea reading out loud to the younger three Little House in the Big Woods Snuggling with Bella, under flannel sheets for a nap Pride & Prejudice munching on homemade granola blow drying little girls hair after their afternoon bath talking with a friend on the phone Mr. Darcy all snuggled on his bed a napping son, in the warmth of the living room. hugs from my son, who is bigger then me. knowing whats for dinner. a phone call from my hubby candle light Quiet Prayers The love of my God 

It's late, and we just got home from a friends house. Today we had the honor, of being at the home of a friend and her family to welcome their newest little blessing from the Lord into the world. We, meaning my oldest daughter and I have a passion for loving on pregnant woman. For me, I have always enjoyed each and everyone of my pregnancies..and being pampered during that time. Therefore, I began to love to do the pampering.  Being pregnant is a lot of work, your tired during 2 out of the three trimesters, you might be at some point during the pregnancy... etc. etc. But let's face it.. Most of us enjoy being pampered just a little bit and pregnancy is the perfect opportunity. Pampering still happens for the preggos. I am what you call and unofficial doula.. I'm not certified.. but LOVE and have a passion to help women in labor. I think it's my call to simplicity, that I tend to compare things from now to historical times. My mind naturally wanders to the 17t...

I love soups!! All kinds of soup!! And every Monday is soup night in our home.. Tonight was the above... so delicious!!! saute onion in bottom of cast iron stock pot! :) Add several cloves or less of garlic 4 cans white beans 8 C chicken broth and simmer till nice and hot. Remove half the soup and puree.. Put back into pot.. Add, maybe 1/2 of Cream or Half in Half. Pepper, Basil etc. And some fresh Parmigiana Cheese... Delicious!!! From My Bella Cucina to Yours!! ~~Enjoy~~

So I sat down a few hours ago to plan my week. Yup, I do this every Sunday night with the intention of sharing it with a friend of mine, every Monday. It's an accountability thing. :) After a super busy weekend of shopping, Costco, Shop-Rite (can-can sale), Kohls, A&;P and Walgreens, Home Depot and a few other I probably forgot about by now... I'm overwhelmed!!! And as I started to photo copy school work, I realized that the printer is running out of black ink.  It's OK, I say to self.. you have another cartridge. But alas, I do not. I have another color cartridge but not black! Thump, head hits the table. I'm tired, I've ran all weekend, between chores, vehicle hiccups, parties and so much more. It's late Sunday night, and I'm overwhelmed and feeling unprepared for the week. Now, I know that it's not completely true, but Satan sure has a way of sneaking up on me and making me feel real guilty about what I haven't done. And that is a li...

There seems to be a common theme around blog land today about purposeful parenting... or more so being a purposeful mom.  I love this theme!! It's so encouraging to hear of all the different ways we can be a purposeful mom. As a mom of many children, and a homeschooling mom... Momming with purpose it a must!!! A busy schedule can sometimes stop me from being the best mom I can be. I get too caught up in the "wants" instead of the "needs". I want a super clean kitchen, my children need me to hold them. I want a clean living room floor, my children need me to play on the floor with them. I want my older children keep their rooms clean, my older children need me to hang out with them in their room. There is purpose in the needs of my family, and not in the wants of myself. Here's a few more purposeful mom tips, that I am working on this year. Signing hymns to my little girls at night while they go to sleep. (instead of popping a movie in their tv) ...

Here we only have one rule, never, ever let it cool!!! hot, hot, hot... hot chocolate!!! :) A quote from a favorite movie around here, Polar Express, and the inspiration to create a........ Hot chocolate/tea/coffee bar. The front porch of my home is quite cold in the winter, it's not heated. But during the late morning , until about mid-afternoon the sun is shining brightly in there, making the room a pleasant, warm place to hang out. We will read, or play games, or just sit and talk. We love this room!! Soooo, after blog hopping and seeing so many neat ideas for a hot chocolate bar, I decided to create my own. And it's located on the front porch.. It creates a neat place for us to hang out as a family and make a little warm drink, without having to be out of the room. My husband is loving it, and so are the kiddos. I'm looking forward to see what guests think, when they come in. :) The Keurig, can be used without a cup in it, just allow the hot water to run into you...

One of the hardest things we do to ourselves as woman is compare. Who looks better, whose husband is nicer, whose kids are more polite, who's kids are smarter, prettier, had nicer clothes, goes to a better school, can afford a better curriculum  etc etc. Why does Sally with 9 kids always look so good and I can't get 5 of mine to church with their shoes on?  We have to remember that the Lord has designed us all differently. We all handle things differently. It's OK. What might be a major crisis in Suzie's house, is nothing in yours. God calls us to lovingly serve him by serving others. Our husbands and children first. Our priorities need to be in line with God's calling on our lives. Being a homemaker is work, yes, but it's loving work. We must keep in mind Jesus' words,  ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these , you did not do for me.’ Matthew 25:45 We need to train our children to be our little helpers. This can s...

I've set many goals for 2012, below are the homesteading related goals: In no particular order, because that would require much more time... so we're just listing! ;) finish fence along side of house. better usage of the garden. start using heirloom seeds. make the most of my postage stamp property, be creative with it. create a most relaxing outdoor living space. keep a log of all things canned and/or frozen buy a grass fed  cow in the spring. (dead and packaged) :) chickens!!!!!!! get/go more organic/ within 100 mile radius for food. There are inside projects as well, but way to many to list!!! :) From My Home to Yours! ~~Blessings~~

Last night, we had a wonderful time of food, fellowship and games with each other to help ring in the New Year. So much has happened this past year. Much of it I'd like to forget. Sooo hopefully 2012 will be a better year. We had a quick dinner of chicken,brown rice with tomato's, and peas. Along with some biscuits. Then we cleaned up from dinner. Big Daddy and I ran some errands, went and picked up some "snack" stuff from the store. After showers and tubbies, we all got in our jammies and had a blast at Wii bowling tournaments, and carnival games! Around 10 pm we lost Big Daddy and Anna to sleepyland. Big Daddy did wake when I took Anna from his arms and put her to bed. We made some shrimp, pigs in a blanket, pizza and mozzarella sticks for snacks and rang in the New Year by toasting together with some grape sparkling cider. Midnight came, kisses all around, rang our dinner bell and off to sleep! At breakfast I made overnight french toast, with sausage pa...