Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...
Tuesday, May 18, 2010.

Outside my window...
it has been raining. Thank you Lord for the rain! It has been quite dry and with Summer fast approaching dry is not good.

I am thinking...
it doesn't really matter how tired I am, I must keep going.

I am thankful for...
dual enrollment. The college President acknowledged the group of students that graduated with their AA a few weeks prior to receiving their high school diplomas. That was very nice of him.

From the learning rooms...
things are total chaos. I am happy we are headed down the backside of May and around the first of June I will try to figure our how to end this school year and begin planning for next year.

I am wearing...
one of my favorite necklaces, a LisaLeonardDesign that says, Love with your Whole Heart.

I am creating...
a month of memories.

I am going...
to my very favorite bookstore in the whole world? I do hope I can squeeze that into the end of my week.

I am reading...
nothing for fun.

I am praying for...
yet another young couple facing cancer.

Pondering these words~ to all 2010 graduates...
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3

From the kitchen...
children have been doing a lot of cooking.

I am hoping...
to find another dairy goat. We have had goats for about seven years and (for the first time) we had begun milking one. She was not happy, and I would work 15 minutes to get one ounce of milk. As we both got a little more comfortable, and I learned a better technique, things were greatly improving. Sunday morning we got a full 8 ounces in about ten minutes and were so happy. She was acting a little funny and we thought she may have eaten something that just upset her stomach. This has happened a couple of times since we've had goats and everything has always worked itself out. We went out of town, for the afternoon, to celebrate a birthday, and returned close to dusk. We hurried out to the goat pen for milking and found that she had died. We were so upset and worried that she may have gotten sick from the recently vacated hog pen. After doing a little research and questioning children as to what she had been given to eat lately we really believe she died of bloat. We are so upset and have decided to use the milk we have collected to make goat milk soap. This will last us a while and remind us of just how special she was.

I am hearing...
silence and yes ~ it is golden.

Around the house...
it is very apparent that we have been running form one ceremony, event, party, performance, ...

One of my favorite things...
sitting down and playing a game despite the fact that the dishes are piled high in the sink, or the floor needs to be mopped, or I could find one hundred other things that I could or should be doing. My children are only little once and they are already not so little any more.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
college orientation, orchestra rehearsals for an up coming concert, mountains of laundry, and maybe a Sarah Plain and Tall marathon; to go with my ironing and as reward for the very first series she has read all by her self.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...Way to go Class of 2010, we had a great time!
Thank you Peggy for the Simple Woman's Daybook {follow links to read more}.

Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...
Friday, May 14, 2010.

Outside my window...
is a most beautiful cool morning. The evenings have also been cool and with a lovely breeze. Summer will be brutal and it is approaching quickly so we treasure each one of these lovely cool moments.

I am thinking...
how can it be possible that my homeschooling years are nearly finished with Jacob? It is exciting to see him have choices to make and work hard for what he wants. Perseverance is a great quality.

I am thankful for...
clean sheets dried on the clothesline, work experience for boys, goats to milk, and fresh eggs.

From the learning rooms...
things have been quiet for too long. When things get very hectic in "life", I allow my children to continue on their own. This has always worked and until there are signs, to tell me otherwise, I'm not going fix what isn't broken.

I am wearing...
I nightgown and bare-feet.

I am creating...
baby quilts. They are finished and I will post pictures soon. A couple of dish-rags and dreaming of goat milk soap.

I am going...
to farmers market in search of black African soap. I have heard that this is great for acne and I hope it works for us.

I am reading...
nothing for fun.

I am praying for...
a friend in need of medical help and direction as to where to get it.

From the kitchen...
summery dishes. Last nights supper was tuna salad on bagels with chips and a pickle, eaten at 8:30, a sure sign that summer is just around the corner.

I am hoping...
(still)to find a little more time to write in this space. I can not spend time here to the aggravation of my family and so I have to just let it be.

I am hearing...
a ceiling fan, the rooster crow and the hum of my computer.

Around the house...
everyone is working on projects. Today is the last day of college classes and preparations begin for graduation and the boys trip.

One of my favorite things...
tucking my girls in at night.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
the week is finished today, graduation is on Monday, and two weeks are left for normal activities like choir and strings and football, etc. We are taking the summer off and can't wait.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

Thank you Peggy for the Simple Woman's Daybook {follow links to read more}.

Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today...May 5, 2010

Outside my window...
it is hot, hazy, smokey with a hint of a breeze. Summer arrived this week in a blaze ~ a difficult transition from a very cold Winter and nearly perfect Spring.

I am thinking...
I am very tired.

I am thankful for...
weeds in my yard and in my life...the ones that have stickers and the ones that bloom. The ones that bloom are easier to enjoy, the ones that are thorny help me pursue Him.

From the learning rooms...
premature Summer preparations and Fall dreams have begun. However, there is still much to be done to finish this year.

From the kitchen...
creating a menu with the girls. Attempting to make things easier and less expensive, I know this can be done.

I am wearing...
garden clothes.

I am creating...
two baby quilts and lists of things we want to do this summer in the studio, projects and decorating.

I am going...
to knitting tonight ~ I hope. Being down a car requires a little extra creativity.

I am reading...
very little this week.

I am hoping...
to try a new knitted scrubbie this week.

I am praying for...
a neighbor battling liver cancer, a young lady making a missions trip this summer.

Pondering these words~
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. "
Winston Churchill

I am hearing...
a big brother on piano with two little sisters playing violin ~ Canon ~ too sweet.

Around the house...
things are beginning to manage themselves. Don't get me wrong, we still make huge messes and things can get so overwhelming for all of us but, when I say get it cleaned up and that means clean enough for company to walk in, we can do it. All this to say...mothers of young children, keep training, the children keep doing their part ~ growing, and one day you just make it there.

One of my favorite things...
children willingly and lovingly helping each other.

A few plans for the rest of the week: spring football starts this week, practicing instruments for end of the year concerts, finishing two quilts, catching our breathe ~ work is just a wee bit slower this week.

Here is picture thought I am sharing... beautiful moon rising over farm field (picture does not do it justice)



Thank you Peggy for the Simple Woman's Daybook {follow links to read more}.

Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...
Tuesday, April 27, 2010...finished Saturday, May 1, 2010.

Outside my window...
clothes are blowing on the clothes line, the weather is incredible and we have begun the morning and evening chore of milking the goats.

I am thinking...
that there is progress on the list of never ending chores, yeah.

I am thankful for...
rest. I had a wonderful weekend at home. We spent a little time at the beach, had friends stop by and visit, many meals around our family table, laundry was accomplished, games were played...and it was good.

From the learning rooms...4-H project and fair books are due Friday, term papers are being turned in, plans for the fall are being discussed, Summer reads are being considered and I am thankful for the quickly approaching end of this year. I love learning, and my children do too, but I am very happy when the college semesters are over.

I am wearing...
goat milking clothes and a determination to add goat milk to our diet. This will be a very SLOW process.

I am creating...
two baby quilts. I have only the binding left to do. These will be mailed out the end of the week.

I am going...
to miss a very sweet and wonderful lady that went home to be with her Lord last Friday. (today, Saturday, we will celebrate her "glorious" life and officially tell her good-bye...we will miss you Grandma A.)

I am reading...
The Age of Opportunity by Tripp and thankful for the encouragement.

I am praying for...Evan and hoping that the plan the doctors have come up with fix the problem of not being able to eat.

From the kitchen...
meals for a few other families. Chicken and yellow rice, homemade hummus, brownies, I need to make granola and I am looking for a good Shepherds Pie recipe...random thoughts in no particular order.

I am hoping...
to find a couple of extra moments to visit this post page more regularly...
I survive the month of May and catch my breath in June. I need summer badly this year. Tea or coffee with your muffins at the beach? You are welcome to join us.

I am hearing...
quiet and "In Christ Alone" hymn (in my head).

Around the house...
things are rough, kids are sick, work is insane and blazing fires need to be put out ~ which is precisely why I am finally posting this Daybook on Saturday, even though I started it on Tuesday.

One of my favorite things...
family time. We had a little more of this over the past weekend and it was so nice.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
park day on Thursday, several extra meetings for children's activities,

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...on her birthday, showing chickens at the fair.


Thank you Peggy for the Simple Woman's Daybook {follow links to read more}.

Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...
Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Outside my window...
the grass is greening up and this makes me happy, all animals are home from fair ~ the two and four legged ones.

I am thinking...
there is way too much that must be done. I have made a list for fear some important things may get overlooked and they have large consequences if they are forgotten, you know ~ the expensive kind of consequences.

I am thankful for...
a husband that never complains about the things I can not manage to get done.

From the learning rooms...end of the year planning. Assessing what needs to be done to wrap things up and peeking around the corner to next year.

I am wearing...
a neck and headache. A trip to my chiropractor would be nice but I don't know how to work that in.

I am creating...
two baby quilts and not much else. I have many things that need to be done and they have left me with little creative energy. I have many things I think about and wonder if I should sketch or list them in some little way. With the busyness of life creativity feels like more work and I don't like that.

I am going...to be very glad when the boys are finished with this semester.

I am reading...
The Age of Opportunity by Tripp and thankful for the encouragement.

I am praying for...
people around me with medical issues and direction for Jacob.

From the kitchen...
a freezer too full to get one more thing in. Meat and veggies sound healthy and good.

I am hoping...
Jesus returns soon...that I can get these two quilts finished...Nanny and Poppy have a wonderful time on vacation this week.

I am hearing...
what else?...Jacob on viola.

Around the house...birthday decorations remind us that two people are another year older.

One of my favorite things...
a certain smell the air has in the spring. Sunday night it had that smell and we spent a little time outside in fellowship with friends.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
things are pretty much back to normal activities. Kids are back to school work, paper work for college, planning for the fall and getting everything in place.

Here is [are two] picture thought[s] I am sharing...[couldn't decide]

below is a picture of me leaving our house and headed
to the neighbors on our tote gote.
I was laughing and felt like I should be in Europe.
Picture by Dad

Thank you Peggy for the Simple Woman's Daybook {follow links to read more}.

Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...
Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Outside my window...
I am wishing for a light drizzle to wash in the fertilizer we put on our yard.

I am thinking...
there is way too much that must be done. I have made a list for fear some important things may get overlooked and they have large consequences if they are forgotten, you know ~ the expensive kind of consequences.

I am thankful for...
a husband that never complains about the things I can not manage to get done.

From the learning rooms...the bare necessities in the form of book work. We always do math, even when we do nothing else. This week we will spend a lot of extra time on fair events. Caleb and I have entered a couple of food items, today Caleb is working at animal check in, Rebekah, Hannah and I have six chickens we must bathe, and a bunny whose nails we will attempt to cut. Deep breathe, these will all be very interesting.

I am wearing...
a neck and headache. A trip to my chiropractor would be nice but I don't know how to work that in.

I am creating...
nothing this week. I have ripped my knitting out 5 times, that's F.I.V.E. times people and right now it is a ball of yarn, not one stitch caste on. I really don'e want to talk about it. Today is Tuesday and I am missing my second knitting night in two weeks.

I am going...to the barn at the fair grounds ~ I will be living there for the next five days. I hope the other animals are nice.

I am reading...
research papers.

I am praying for...
four people younger than me facing some pretty big medical issues.

I am pondering these words...
Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest. Spoken like a father, it makes me want to run and sit at his feet.

I am hoping...
to put together a birthday celebration for my first and fifth children this coming weekend. How did my oldest get to 18 and my youngest get to 9? Can someone PLEASE tell me how this happened...

I am hearing...
silence ~ it really is golden.

Around the house...
we are washing chickens instead of windows and floors and learning the parts of a chicken and goat instead of science.

One of my favorite things...
laughter during a stressful week.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
I think we have covered this all ready.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...



Thank you Peggy for the Simple Woman's Daybook {follow links to read more}.

last monday

I'm not sure how a whole week can pass in the blink of an eye, but around these parts it happens everyday...o.k. ~ every week.

These are just a few of the pictures from last weeks trip to the gardens complete with a picnic.
I am still learning the settings on my camera. My photography class has helped, but it is just amazing how on and off my pictures can be.

We had such a good time with our friends and are so glad they asked us to join them.
**The following pictures are in no certain order, that would have taken me way too long, Enjoy!

(picture above by Hannah)

above picture by Hannah

Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...
Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Outside my window...
trees and grasses are bright green; not my yard of course but the fertilizer is piled high and waiting for the next rainy day. The pollen continues to be some of the worst we've ever had.

I am thinking...
I need things to slow down. The very soonest this will happen is June 1st. Note to self, breathe deep.

I am thankful for...
A very sweet Easter Sunday at church and with family and friends.

From the learning rooms...a field-trip yesterday and then more of the same...
speech, 4-H fair letters and preparation, book club "Cricket in Time Square", and the rest of the usual studies.

I am wearing...
yoga pants and t-shirt, I must get some exercise today.

I am creating...
still working on 2 baby quilts for this, and some coasters from fabric.

I am going...to a 4-H meeting tonight, not knitting. I am a little stuck in my knitting anyway so this will be a little less painful than it normally would have been.

I am reading...
only my Bible, but I hope to start a new book soon and pick up another one I had started and then did not finish.

I am praying for...
direction for Jacob, and continuing to pray for the things I listed in my last Daybook "praying for".

I am pondering these words...
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God". Psalm 14:1

I am hoping...
to finish our family read aloud soon, this has been difficult with the boys in classes four nights a week.

I am hearing...
Jacob on the piano.

Around the house...
we are trying to keep things a little more clean and orderly than normal; it help with all of the extra business of the next two months.

OneTwo of my favorite things...
a last minute field-trip (thrown together at 9:00pm Sunday night) with friends to a state park garden, just a short drive from where we live. The pictures below are from yesterdays trip. We had a great time. I will post pictures of this trip tomorrow, there were too many good ones to post only one.
another favorite thing...a give-away. This is my 195th post and somewhere close to 200 we need a give-away right? Yes, I think so.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
graduation preparations, schedules for the fall semester, both boys in college classes have papers to write, 4-H kids have Fair projects to finish, develop a plan for two birthdays we have middle of this month, try to get Jacob's graduation pictures done.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...Space Shuttle lift off yesterday

Thank you Peggy for the Simple Woman's Daybook {follow links to read more}.

Resurrection Sunday

HE'S ALIVE...

...and I'm forgiven!

lately...

visiting~a very sweet horse...

working the farm...

fertilizing grass weeds...

mowing grass weeds...

picking wild flowers weeds...

Welcome Spring...we are so glad you're here!