EKjourney Backup

This weekend, Phil gave me the wonderful gift of quiet time to craft. I get a little quiet time every day - maybe a shower, or a cat nap while the children rest, or time to cook dinner and finish up chores while the children play outside with Phil after work...but crafting time, chunks of time, creative brain time, rarely happens. It was delicious!! I so enjoyed just thinking and doing!! I only managed to make 2 cards, and it was mostly a learning experiment in what works and what doesn't...and how to use glue. LOL! But, it so revived me and refreshed me and inspired me! They are not masterpieces and my creative brain is a bit rusty but I had so much fun!

My parents gave me 5 boxes of leftover assorted apples that they had sitting in their cooler. They were not in great shape - spots, soft, wrinkly but they made the BEST applesauce that I have ever had!!! It took me 3 days as I only had time to make one batch (6) at time. Have I mentioned my love affair with my counter space? I had canning supplies and boxes on my counter and still had a little leftover room to make meals! The trick is in the mix. There were at least 5 different apple varieties and I am convinced that a mix is the way to go! Yum! I quartered the apples, removed the core and rotten spots, quartered each section and dropped them in my stockpot skin and all! I added about 2 cups of water to keep them from sticking and then put the lid on and steamed them until they were soft. I then ran them through the food processor to sauce them a bit. No sugar, no spices, just sweet apple goodness! I processed them for 20 minutes and voila! I managed to get 18 quarts plus lot...

My time with the Lord in the morning is truly a most precious and amazing time.  I eagerly get up and I am excited to have this time.  It is dark.  The house is quiet (mostly!).  I am alone.  I get a cup of tea and I sit down with the Word and with my favorite devotional book (100 Days of Blessing by Nancy Campbell).  I read a Psalm, a Proverb, and currently I am reading through the New Testament.  I read a devotion or two.  I find myself so hungry for the Word of God!!  I want to know all He has to say.  I want to be obedient to all He asks of me.  I want to reference and support every decision that I make, that Phil and I make in our marriage and in our parenting to scripture.  Of course, I am a miserable failure!  LOL!  So, I also want to cleave to the Lord's mercy and forgiveness. This is an excerpt from my most favorite children's devotional called Leading Little Ones to God (Marian Schoolland).  I...

One thing that I can count on is constant change!  I have been racking my brain the last few weeks trying to find a solution to getting us back on track.  The current system just wasn't working anymore..dynamics changed and things were not running smoothly.  This week, I finally stumbled on a more workable schedule.  Our start to the morning is very slow.  Getting my own morning chores finished and supervising the children in theirs, is very slow.  By the time we get to the point where we could start school, the morning has slipped away, there is no time for outside play.  Brighton is starting to get cranky and ready for lunch and a nap.  School is hurried and there is always something that we aren't getting to and the whole scenario was leaving me frustrated. Here is the adaptation that we have tried the last couple of days. Morning time is a time for chores and play.  We get up, have our breakfast, and then start on chores.  The childr...

It isn't rainy and it isn't frozen, so we spent the afternoon outside! The children played in the mud and loved every minute of it! I cleaned out the animal cages and tackled a little weeding in the front. It was such bliss! The smell of the wet earth, buds starting to grow on all the twigs, green shoots popping up through the soil, and the satisfaction of a clean garden space. Phil is tackling one of the many projects we have planned! When we first moved here, the retaining wall (blue concrete wall) and half the hillside was covered with ivy and the rest was a steep grassy slope. We have slowly plugged away at retaining the hillside and making it into usable farm space. There was a lot of runoff, erosion, and mud this year and so we are going to retain the rest of the slope in terraces. Phil is working on the stairway as we speak (it is 8:00 p.m.). We found cheap used retaining wall blocks that someone will deliver to us for free. What a huge savings and there shoul...

Brighton provides lots of amusement! He loves to laugh with his siblings. And occasionally stick his tongue out.

What a long 2 weeks! They have been a bit draining. Little B has entered that challenging stage that I remember all the children going through between the ages of 12-18 months. The stage where they want Mommy to hold them all the time, where they whine, where they get upset if they don't get what they want. Where you wonder if they have super human talents to get from point A to point B in lightening fast time and leave a wake of messes in their path. It is a time where Mommies must practice extra patience and often look at the clock wondering if it is nap time yet. We ushered in the New Year with the challenge of getting things back on track! It has felt so good but I have seen my short comings in the juggling act. I let distractions became a focus and take me away from my priorities. I noticed a shift of behavior in my first born. It was an added source of frustration and I am sorry to say that I had become a bit blinded as to what was going on. He volunteered to Daddy ...

We must take advantage of any break in the rain! Stirring the mud stew. Stirring the rainwater. "Go Team Tracker" Sawyer is trying to entice the girls to leave their stirring in favor of looking for and identifying animal tracks.

Back to reality! The second week of Christmas break was so enjoyable. We just hung out here at home, relaxed, and I worked on cleaning. As always, it is hard to see Phil go back to work! I really miss him. I got a menu plan done and we are finally back on track with regular (and nutritious meals). It has been so nice to sit down as a family and have a big dinner together. When I was sick, Phil put together or finished up a last minute meal when he got home from work and I was usually in bed feeling too sick to get up! We are trying to get ourselves into the habit of making dinner a family fellowship where we sit and relax at the table. I have been reading Island of the Blue Dolphins as soon as we finish. I have lots of plans to add to this time but for now, we are starting simple, with a family read. Sawyer and Phil can't seem to get enough and keep begging for one more chapter! LOL! It is good practice for the children to remain in their seats, wait patiently, be good ...

Brighton turned one year on January 2nd! We have been so blessed to have this little boy with us the past year! It is amazing how much they change and grow in their first year of life. As a mom, I so delight in seeing the joy and enjoyment that his brother and sisters have for him. The laughter, the smiles, the care, the concern, the inclusion of him in their every day happenings. He adds a wonderful dimension to our family, as each of our children do. Birthday shoes! Ice cream! Happy Birthday, you precious boy!

This is the last room that I got to during my week long house purging frenzy. It wanted to keep going and get the other 3 rooms finished but the duties of the "normal routine" doesn't allow the time. This room used to be one of my favorites. It was the nursery that we set up for Sawyer. It was complete with crib, changing table, dresser, and all the baby gizmos and gadgets that we thought we would need plus it was decorated to the hilt! By the time we got down to Brighton, the necessities had changed quite a bit and most of those gizmos and gadgets are gone. This includes the crib LOL! This room is now a catch all. It is Brighton's room, housing his bed (the play and pack) and the few baby items that we need (like the backpack). It is the music room with the piano that we were lucky enough to have passed down to us. It is the guest bedroom for Grandma Tracy's visits. And currently, it is the holding area for the items we plan to put on Craig's list....

This room IS cluttered! LOL! I think it is because there is so much furniture crammed together. However, the surface tops are simple and we got rid of a ton of books! I put away a tote full of knick knacks so for me....this is really purged!

I call this Phil's Coffee Beastro (yes, I think it is much funnier spelled this way LOL). This has been a great set up. It keeps the clutter off the counter and everything he needs to make a latte is right there! The dining room. The hidden corner in the back is quite the eyesore but it can't be helped! I have my herbal cupboard against the wall and then the lovely large dog crate and on top of that 3 big 6 gallon buckets of rabbit food, duck food, and chicken food. I need a dry and convenient place to store animal food. This little nook can go from clean to disaster in about 2 minutes! This is the shoe and miscellaneous storage. I cleaned it out, added a few new labeled boxes, and voila instant organization....at least for the moment! The great unusable space. This house some oddities and this is one of them. It provides lots of opportunities for furniture rearrangement (which I love) and breakdancing, should I try that someday.