For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29:11-14

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Monday, January 31, 2011

The twists of this life we live.

For my family, life has been a bit on the crazy side for a couple of weeks now. My blogging time has been cut down to next to nothing...hence the lack of posts here. :( Between schooling with the kids, grade posting for the school district that we are a part of (though, this is becoming more and more difficult, I must admit), preparing for baby goats to appear, my work for Gling, a family issue or two and just trying to keep up with the every day, I've been stretched a bit thin.

Despite all of this, I have felt peace. Finding peace in the midst of a storm is not always easy, but thankfully the Lord is faithful to provide me with the peace I need and the strength I am lacking when I need it most.

No babies in our barn as of yet, but we are expecting some in the weeks to come. I can't wait to have all of that fresh milk, cute little babies and all of the activity that they both bring. A couple of weeks ago, my son built me a cheese press. I'll have to post pictures of it later, he did such a great job! I made my first batch of farmhouse cheddar the day he built it for me. Such an easy cheese to make and it turned out WONDERFULLY! I can't wait to try it with our own fresh goats milk. :) One more thing I can take off of my grocery list if I can perfect it and work it into my weekly routine.

We've been developing a new routine around here. I've been assigning more chores to the kids so that we are able to keep up with the daily list of things. My calendar is my "brain" some days and it's helping me to stay more on track. What a blessing it's been to have meals planned, dishes assigned each day and laundry as well. Taking the time each week to plan out our week out has saved us so much time and frustration. It's amazing, we haven't removed anything from our schedule, but we're able to get much more done. Feels good!

Praying you all are having a blessed week so far. It seems everyone around the country is getting the snow we are praying for. :) Enjoy it if you have it and all of it's beauty. Snow can be a mixed blessing, I know. I choose to focus on the beauty it brings and trust in the Lord to help in the areas that it complicates. :)

Friday, January 14, 2011

Thankful for Friday!

Wow! Am I late in getting this posted this week. Oh well, better late than never. It IS still Friday, after-all. :)

What a week this has been, from snow on Monday, to horrible rain and warm temperatures, we've had a bit of everything it seems. The rain was such a bummer for me, for some reason. I think much of my mood was due to the lack of predicted snow. They had talked and talked about this storm for a week, saying it was going to be a "good old fashioned snow storm" with a foot of snow possible in one evening. Well, as you already may have read, we didn't get anything. Such a bummer! :(

Beyond the weather woes we've had a good week. I've been working since the first of the year to purge out the clutter from our home and really get on top of the daily tasks around here. It is so easy to let things slide, let little things go and eventually they grow into a mountain. At least that is how it's felt as I dig out from underneath it. :)

Another area that has seen some attention from me this week is my quiet time. I don't know why, but doing a daily devotional has always been a struggle for me. I LOVE the idea, but rarely finish or do it faithfully every day. As much as I know my walk needs this daily time with the Lord, life tends to get in my way. This year, I have decided that I need to make it more of a priority. Just as I make time for my kids, my husband and my home, I also need to make time to be with my Father. Relationships take work, communication, listening, attentiveness and the willingness to put yourself aside a little for the good of the relationship. My walk with the Lord should be no different. So, I've decided to make it a priority this week and have LOVED every minute I've gotten to be alone with Jesus!

This time has given my days a focus, a peaceful start and my prayer time and reading have given me things to ponder as I work through my day. My focus has been so much more on how God would want me to respond, work and be in all aspects of my day. Such a great way to spend a bit of time each morning, like having a nice lazy cup of coffee with your husband before he leaves for work in the morning. My devotion time has set the tone for my day. No better place to start, as far as I'm concerned!

So, what am I thankful for this week? Oh my...to list it all will take up too much blog space. I'll jut list a few to give you an idea of where my heart is....

  • My quiet time each morning...are you surprised? :) This time of reading, praying and truly listening to the heart of Jesus has been the best start to every day.
  • My hard working man that gives so freely of himself for our family, working so hard even in the freezing cold snow and drenching rain..all for us. Love that man. :)
  • My kids, and their willingness to help when I need it.
  • Our home, as cluttered and out of control as it seems right now, it's home...the place where my family gathers and memories are made.
  • Being able to be home with my kids, teaching them, watching them grow and learn...a true privilege!
  • The word study I have started doing on "Grace". Such a powerful word study...only one day in and I am loving seeing the heart of God, the grace He bestows on us...undeserved.
A very blessed week...loaded with many blessings, challenges and trials, but God is faithful. I have SO much more to do in reclaiming my home and a routine that will bring more peace to our family, but one day at a time, one room at a time I will get there. :) I have no doubt. My craving for order and organization in my home is HUGE...almost as much as I crave chocolate. :)

Monday, January 10, 2011

The snow "they" said wouldn't come...




Well, the "weather guessers" were totally off for today's forecast. You may recall that we are supposed to be getting ready for a real "old fashioned" winter snow storm in the next few days. Today was supposed to be the calm before the storm....a beautiful sunny day. Well, shortly before my husband left for work this AM it started snowing ever so slightly. No worries, they said we "might" see a few light flurries. :) By the time the kids and I left for their classes this AM we had well over an inch of snow. I was not complaining at all, but found it rather funny that we were supposed to have just light flurries when we'd seen a steady snow fall for well over an hour.



Here are my lilac bushes, so beautiful in the snow. :)


My front porch, covered in snow....ignore the house that is in desperate need of a good painting.
Not to worry, I was stopped when I took this shot on our road. I just love how our place looks in the snow!

Down the road from our place...stopped again, not driving while taking pictures. :) Such a beautiful "non snowy" morning...thanks weather guessers!

The calm before the storm...

Good morning! Our area is gearing up for a "good old fashioned snow storm" according to the weather guys. It's gone from a HUGE event, to a more mild one...either way, we will see snow this week. Depending on who you listen to, we could see anywhere from a trace of snow to a foot. Not sure how so many different people can have so many different predictions, but at least they all agree it should snow. We got a bit over the weekend, but it's all gone now.

So, what does this mean for me? Well, my Yukon will not be going into the repair shop just yet. It's our only 4-wheel drive that we all fit in and as long as the snow fall is minimal, we do have classes to attend this week. That's OK, the repairs can wait. :) I am looking forward to the snow. So are my kids.

I did my grocery shopping over the weekend and made sure that this time we were ready for anything. Who knows, perhaps the weather guys will be TOTALLY off and we'll get a storm that will look much like the one we had our first winter here. That year we were snowed in for almost 3 weeks with just over 2 feet of snow! We were not ready for it and we all about went nuts. This time, we are ready! Most of us are almost hopeful we get a "good old fashioned snow storm" but know that it's not likely.

Praying for a restful week, as we are all recovering or suffering from a nasty cold. Praying my dear husband doesn't get the dreaded cold. Also praying the snow doesn't keep him from being able to work. Thankfully, God knows what we need and we can rest in that.

I'm looking forward to the snow falling and being able to sit with a hot cup of tea and watch our world turn white. I LOVE the snow, love the way it transforms our homestead and lightens moods. I've got plenty of sewing, crocheting and knitting to keep me busy if we do get snowed in. :)

Friday, January 7, 2011

Thankful for Friday!

Wow! I'm a bit late in getting this Friday post up, but it's been a VERY long day. What have I gotten done...absolutely nothing, or so it would seem. That's OK though, everyone is entitled to a day like this from time to time..or so I'm told. :)

My day started today with a VERY early drop of of a little boy I baby sit from time to time. Jack got here at about 4:15 this AM. Thankfully he is a snuggler, so I got some snuggle time in on the sofa. After a couple of hours, he was ready for a nap...and so was I after a night of very little sleep. We napped, let the rest of the kids (some of whom have been sick all week) sleep in. Oh the blessings of homeschooling, being able to be flexible like this. I love that!

Today has been a very laid back day for us with school as well. A much needed lazy day after a week of nasty colds and trying to keep up despite feeling rotten. The main thing we did for school today was to watch the movie Food Inc. I'd already watched it, but wanted the kids to see it as well. The older kids took notes and it will count towards their health requirements...gotta love that! If you haven't had the opportunity to watch this movie, I'd highly recommend it. If you care about what your family eats, where it comes from (if it doesn't come from your own farm or homestead) you will want to see this. Even if you don't really want to know...you should watch it!

So, what am I thankful for this week? Oh my, where to begin...let's see.

  • As always, my hard working husband and his ability to work in a struggling economy when so many are not able to. We've had our scares, our down times, but we have been blessed.
  • My kids, their readiness to learn, and understanding of why we live the way we do. For the most part, they "get" it, may not always like the chores required to live this life, but they at least understand why and appreciate it.
  • Our place here where we can grow a good portion of our food, have room to move around, have God's beauty all around us and are blessed to live this life.
  • The relationship I have with my husband, he is truly my best friend.
  • Having the time and desire to be creative...crocheting, knitting, sewing and such has become a part of my daily life. I went too long not allowing myself that time, now I can't do without it. It's also nice that my husband supports my endeavors and encourages me to do as much as I feel like. :)
  • My Yukon will soon be in the repair shop, it's been a month next week since I was in my wreck and I am SO tired of the daily reminder and questioning looks from people...as if I don't already feel rotten about it all. :(
  • Charlies Laundry Soap that I ordered from Marmee Dear. I absolutely LOVE it! Even with our horrible hard water, our clothes are just plain CLEAN! May be a silly thing, but for this mom it's been a wonderful blessing. :)
  • My Shark Steam Mop that my wonderful hubby bought me for Christmas....works like a dream and my floors are CLEAN! :)
Can you tell I've done a lot of cleaning lately? :) I'm trying so hard to get back on top of my house after a long month of preparing for Christmas, all of the running and everything else that the end of the year seems to bring. It was all good, but my house suffered because of it all. All in all, it's been a good start to the new year.