Sweetness & Silliness

What's growing?

The beautiful tiger lilies my mom brought for me last year are in bloom. They're the prettiest things in our yard. The boys love them and had to have a quick lesson on what to pick and what not to pick. Of coarse, we can't eat these, so they're also waiting for the day lilies to bloom so we can munch on the petals which are very healthy.


Our mullein plants are blooming now, too. The leaves have already come in handy for a tea when 4yo had a respiratory problem two weeks ago. I know they grow wild (also known as a weed) but they have many uses and I just think they look neat. If you've never stopped to feel one, you should. The leaves are velvety soft-its no wonder people used to use them for toilet paper!

Our peach trees are looking good. There are plenty of little peaches growing, but we seem to be losing many of them. They just keep falling off! I'm all set to bake a homemade peach pie when they're ready. mmmmm.

Mulberries are something I've never tasted before. This year, I'm keeping an eye out for these to ripen. There are tons of black birds around, so I'm not so sure we'll get many for ourselves.

Lastly, here are our calendula plants. They're not blooming yet, but I'm glad to see them growing. The petals will be useful in making lotion, soap, tea, or just eating in a salad. There are more things we're trying to grow here in our little yard, but I'll wait to post about them if they actually make it.

Now there's one good Daddy!

My husband likes to mow. He doesn't do it as often as he would like, but when he does he's usually not alone. The younger boys like it a lot and it gives me time to do what I need/want to do. In this picture, 1yo has fallen asleep. My husband noticed that when our 6yo gets pretty bored with mowing unless he can have responsibility. So, he gets to steer if he's riding along. If my husband is holding onto the wheel all the while to make sure they go in straight rows, 6yo soon realizes he's not actually the one doing the work and gets disinterested quickly. Since our yard is mostly weeds and dirt, it doesn't really matter what the mowing rows looks like! This is just one example of the many things my husband can do with children underfoot...

Why is it so easy for him to get a lot done with the young ones nearby, but so difficult for me to do that? I have to use all my energy to focus on what I'm trying to do! If I want to teach them how to do something, I have to be doing a project that doesn't have to be done soon or well. Just another thing I learn to be better at by watching my husband (wish I was a quicker learner.)

Quiet Time & Church Unity

The personalities God has given each of our children are fun to watch. Just one example of their differences is what happens at nap time. First, 4yo has a "race to his bed, hug, kiss, and tickle" routine we do EVERY day. He may spend some time looking at books or singing, but almost always falls asleep.


Then, there is our 6yo who has not fallen asleep for a nap since he was probably 2(except for about 3 freak times). Books have been the saving grace. Last week, he was very creative in his selections of quiet time locations. One day, he had it in the chest-thing we have in the living room.


The next day, he started in a tent (see big sheet over chairs in the photo) then he moved to the center of the kitchen floor and read there for about half an hour.

Lastly, 1yo, who I don't have a picture of, drifts to sleep every time (well 99%) if he's first given a big drink and sweet caresses when he's laid in his crib.

That makes me think of a conversation my husband and I had last night about the different personalities in the church. Its not that every man should be this way and every woman that way. Whatever the personality He has given each person has a benefit to the body of Christ. Sometimes we don't put our personalities into subjection to His Word, and we become of no effect to the body- even a hindrance. Other times, we fail to see the beauty of the diverse personalities He brings together. He must see us like I see my boys- so sweet in their own ways. Each of them bring something different to our home. But all those differences, when guided in the right direction, bring a wonderful family unity we could not have planned ourselves.

Local Meat

My husband decided to buy part of a cow from a local man. Our sons went with us to pick it up from the packing place. The next day our son said, "Mom, ALL that meat says 'Not For Sale" and they sold every one of them to us anyway." I didn't even notice that, but I got a good chuckle to look at things from a child's view point. (The meat is good BTW).

Do girls do this, too?

I knew he was getting muddy, but you should have seen him. His face showed that he wasn't "making a mess", he was hard at work. He was thinking and planning where to dump what and what to use to pour water and such. I like seeing those facial expressions on our boys. These clothes have made it through 3 so far, so if I can't get them clean they've served us well anyway.

Actually, all 3 boys were busy "working" in the water and mud- pouring, digging, and dumping. At one point a friend stopped by with 3 boys of her own, so there were 6 surrounding the mess! It just made me wonder- would girls have ended up with the same enormous mess of muddy, tubs, shovels, and buckets? Or, given the same semi- clean water and equipment to start with, would they're ending look completely different? Maybe I will find out for myself down the road someday. For now, a little mud is worth busy boys.

Yummy Kefir #1

I've had some people ask, "What is kefir?" So, I thought I would show how I'm serving it up today. Its healthy, contains easily digestable proteins, and probiotcs-among other benefits like minerals and vitamins. A brief history of our family and kefir...

I don't care for things with the taste of fermentation or alcohol (kefir is not alcohol- but it can have that kind of a taste sometimes.) My mother-in-law started to make it and send some home with us. I could barely down a bite, but the boys LOVE it. She makes it into a jello-ish, fruity, tangy treat. I kept taking a bite when I'd serve it to them, and now I like it, too. (Maybe she started to add more things to cover the taste.) Recently, she showed me how to make it and gave me some kefir grains. Now, there's no turning back!

I will post how to make it like she does another day. But today, we're just having kefir smoothies. This is what I did:




Strain the milk from the kefir grains.



Pour the milk (not the grains) into the blender along with what sounds good. I added:
a kiwi,
a banana I had frozen a while back,
elderberries I had frozen from last fall,
some raw honey,
a hand full of ice cubes,
some ground flax seed
and a sprinkle of Stevia
(You could add juice as your sweetener, but I didn't have any.)



After I pour the smoothie into servings, I usually have plenty to freeze and eat later (kefir pops). Be careful not to spill the tray as your children yell, "Is it ready, is it ready?"


Serve and watch the smiles.

4yo always asks for some, but doesn't generally drink much of it. However, he always finishes when I make it like Grandma taught me.



Don't forget to cover the kefir grains with more milk. In a day or two, you can start all over agian! Oh yeah, you can also use the kefir milk for any recipe that calls for buttermilk. We used it for pancakes the other day.

I know many people already use kefir...do you have any suggestions or ideas? I'd love to hear them since I'm pretty new at it.

Learning "useful" arts

There are many things I wish I would have paid more attention to as I was growing up. Sewing is one of those. Now, I can see the usefulness of it, but I only know a minimal ammount about it.

Recently, some ladies from church wanted to make a quilt together. My mother taught me a little about quilting a few years ago, so I gave it a shot and here are 3 of the squares I made. Mind you, there are plenty of mistakes in each square, but it was fun to try! I can tell that this may not be the time in my life that I take up quilting heavily as these took me a while. But maybe every now and then I can work on a piece for fun.

Masterpiece, not by human hands

My husband's parents brought by this little turtle last week. 6yo asks to go check on it most mornings when he gets up. One day he brought it over to me and said, "Mom, it looks like somebody painted its shell." I mentioned how neat it is that God has put his artwork on some of the tiniest things. "I know!" he replied in amazement of the artwork.

Our lives are created to be His works of art. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

Feel special, unique and important to the same One who made this turtle and live with His plan in mind.

Depends on who you ask, and on which day

Am I a good cook? No, not really. Probably because I make a lot of mistakes and don't know that much about it. Nonetheless, I do cook (or at least prepare meals) all through the week- breakfast, lunch and dinner. Don't let me mislead you, my husband pitches in where needed. As a matter of fact no one, including myself, would have eaten around here for the first few months of this pregnancy if it weren't for his shopping and cooking efforts.

When my attitude is not in check, it can be a down right burdensome task...but today, I was reminded of one reward that can come from it.

I served up some turkey dogs (sorry boys, I do love you, but I am challenged in the area), some fresh pineapple, slices of cheese and the promise of a kefir/fruit smoothie to come. The response I got was a chorus of original songs, beautifully composed and rich with lyrics professing my 6yr old and my 4yr old son's gratitude. If what they say is true, I am THE best cook(er) in the world and they are very glad I am their mom so I can cook ALL their meals. YEAH!
- We'll see if they think so tomorrow.