Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Day Huh?

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Okay after seeing Katie posting day after day about her time with NO internet and my whole "yeah I'm doing that too" thing, I figured I better check in :) Do I have any grand revelations? Lessons learned? I've learned that my resolve is not as big as I thought. I've learned that the internet is much more of a HABIT than I thought. I sit when I'm tired and read a blog or two. A lot. I've learned that my spirit is willing but my flesh is weak. And that I'm not okay with just giving into my flesh quite so much.
What's she got there? A new garden plant to plant? I want LOTS to grow!
But I've also learned that even the simple concept of trying to not eat the bread of idleness has left me getting SO much more accomplished everyday. And that when I truly get to where not a moment of my life is fruitless I will get done everyday what I want to get done, what I dream can get done, and have been told that a mom whom homeschools with almost 5 children can't possibly get done in one day - that I CAN grow huge gardens, have animals, have a clean home, clothes on the line, never run out of things, read my Bible, spend great time with my children AND husband, bake all my own bread, and well.. be the superwoman I told myself just isn't realistic. Because in a few days of not NO internet but simply less, of reminding myself throughout the day to not be idle, things are getting done. And I can see a glimpse of just how some women achieve the seemingly impossible.
What a hard worker.
It's not that I can't do these things. I just choose not to. Like sitting here typing instead of cleaning the morning dishes. Sigh. Off to clean the kitchen :)
Getting more done gives you more time for this.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

In scrapbooking news

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I scrapped :) I'm starting up a few posts about digital scrapbooking that should come out in the next few weeks for those of you who can't or don't want to spend thousands of dollars at the scrapbook store. And I have some recycled scrapping posts coming too!

*note* click layout to see bigger

First up, Oops. Garrison fell and gave himself a gnarly little black eye. Doesn't he look cute? :D Who can resist a 1 year old with a shiner? Not this mom.

And speaking of irresistible baby moments, here he is again in rare form. No comments about me not tomato staking him. Clearly I wasn't doing the best job. But man he was so sweetly guilty I loved it.

I'm SO glad my kids are able to play for hours without a single toy. Cass and Adric spent the entire day "cooking" up grass and black walnuts for their restaurant. The two of them can spend hour after hour together pretending anything and everything. It amazes me. And makes me proud.

And oh how Frankie is growing up way too fast. He was so proud (and clearly so was his mom!) when he used the big tiller Clay rented.
I admit that scrapping is relaxing for me. I can tune out why Clay watches a movie and just scrap. It's nice. I missed it for the longest time.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Frankie's joke

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Okay the kids make up all sorts of great jokes and I always forget them. I don't want to.

Frankie's joke of the day.

I was making salad and asked Cassie to get the Grey Poupon for the salad dressing.
Frankie says "Ew who would want Grey Poupon their salad?"

Get it? Grey Poop on their salad?

Yes potty humor. Do we do potty humor, not really. But man that was a good joke.

Work Is Like Breathing

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It's amazing to me how the Lord can put something on your heart and then have it confirmed everywhere you look. And so it began that way within the last few weeks.

Work. A few weeks ago it was my turn in our raw milk co-op to go to the Amish. I always leave there inspired and this didn't disappoint. Now there was my new found desire to grow or at least get some birdhouse gourds this year and run a long string of them for Martins. Or my reassurance that a woodstove outside in a screened porch to not heat the house is totally doable for cooking in the Summer. There are always loads of those things. But this time was different. I was left feeling a desire to work.

It was 7 in the morning and everyone, including kids were outside planting gardens. One farm had kids the age of my oldest son outside by themselves with no adults pounding in tomato stakes in a huge garden. 3 yos carrying buckets of milk to the house. WORK. Done by everyone. Not a frown in sight. No one was spared. And then we came to the farm where in the midst of work there was smiles. Children laughing with each other. THAT was play. That was time to be together.

Work there was like breathing. Everyone does it not because they "have to" but because that's what you do. SO much gets done. More than I can possibly imagine.

I prayed about it. The Lord brought me to verses in the Bible, then days later Clay read the same passages during family devotions. And when I was on the brink, Katie posted this post. It was everything the Lord had been working in me. Everywhere I turned there it was.... idleness. The Lord convicted me wherever he could.

So tomorrow it begins. I'm finishing off the week as a no internet week. It should have started today. But uh... my flesh got in the way. But like Katie, I'll post the difference it makes in this week. And uh... no tv for me either. I wish I could say it's never a problem for me, and it usually isn't but the need to commit to it is there. But it goes beyond internet and tv. It's about idleness.

Proverbs 31:27
She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

My goal is to abolish idleness. Now that doesn't mean no rest. I'm going to attempt to quelch the idleness that takes over my days. How easy it is to be read verses in the Bible and then push them to the side. That Proverbs 31 verse has been read by me 1,000 times and I've felt the sting of that word idleness 1,000 times. But little to no change. So here it is.

I'll be posting this week even if it's just a little note. Well maybe it may be too tempting but we'll see. Hehe. I may know myself too well.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Garden Journal - Thurday May 14th, 2009

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Okay so I haven't blogged in a month. And even now I'm not going to really :) I realized that whether I blog or not I am going to keep track of what is going on in the garden. I wanted to do a written one but I'll never get it done or lose the notebook or something.

Tuesday May 12th:
Planted 4 zucchini plants (8 seeds) about 2 feet apart
Planted 4 butternut squash seeds in a hill - hoping for 2 strong seedling on hill
Planted about 12 feet of cucumbers (1/2 straight Pepino or something and 1/2 pickling cucumbers. Will look at seeds tomorrow) Planted about 8 feet of pole beans
Planted row of Romaine lettuce (ugh I should have pulled out the seeds so I could know what variety but I'm too tired now) between the 2 pole bean teepees in other bean bed
Transplanted second batch of peppers - 20 plants - sweet Italian stuffing peppers and the Hot Pepper Mix from bountiful gardens. I started those under lights this year. About 50 plants in total. I'm thrilled about it.

Garden status:
2 broccoli plants out of 12 going to flower
Other 10 plants have smaller heads slightly smaller than a baseball
1 Bok Choy out of 6 flowering. Ate it. Was amazing
Big Romaine heads ready to eat. Salad tomorrow! Maybe whole wheat pizza and salad. Sourdough pizza crust. Yeah.
Onions have unopened flowers
Straight neck yellow squash planted two weeks ago looking good. About 2 inches tall with 1 set of true leaves.
Mesclun too tall. Must eat.

Clay's garden status. All his silver queen corn is up. Compost transplanted Amish pumpkins looking way stronger than thought all with one set true leaves.

Today Thursday May 14th:
Cut 3 heads of cauliflower. Slightly smaller than store bought ones, nice slight purple color :) They were starting to open a bit so I cut them today. Sauteed with some Spring onions from the Amish, butter and fresh Thyme from the garden. Honestly the best cauliflower I've ever had. Honestly.

Boy it's been raining a lot. Raining a few times a week for 3 weeks at least. Everything in the garden going off, weeds too. Though suddenly my Spring veggies are wanting to flower. Sigh. I guess I need to eat them. Yum.

Quick Blog Giveaway!

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Katie the wonder friend is having a rockin giveaway on her blog! Last minute and all but you have until tomorrow, the 15th to enter. Yeah it's just me keeping my chances of winning higher. You know how I am. :) You can win one of these from Vision Forum:

New products are always exciting, and we hope you’ll be as excited as we are about the 5 new DVD titles in the Reclaiming the Culture set.
Titles include:

You May Not Take Our Guns (DVD)

The Devolution of Law (DVD)

Top Ten Questions About Genesis and Creation (DVD)

The State of Parental Rights in America (DVD)

Christianity and Science Fiction: Reclaiming the Genre for Christ (1 DVD & 2 CDs)

Reclaiming the Culture
Description from the Vision Forum website:

At every level of government, our rights as citizens and parents are ignored and usurped by power-hungry politicians. Our news media, universities, and entertainers actively wage war against God’s Word and those who live by it. And our children are confronted daily by the lies of evolution and the horrific realities of its “survival of the fittest” ideology.
In an effort to provide encouragement, hope, and practical instruction to Christian families, Vision Forum is pleased to release five new DVDs. These timely presentations will equip your family to understand our culture’s most critical battles and biblically fight for the rights granted to us by God, rights recognized and preserved for us by our Founding Fathers.

Go ahead. Enter now. Tell your friends!! Get hopping!! The deadline is Friday the 15th!

CLICK HERE :)