Modest Swimsuits...

Modesty is very important to our family for many reasons (which would be enough for a whole separate post lol.) The bottom line is that we want our daughters to grow up respecting themselves, and the bodies the Lord has blessed them with.

Swim wear has always been an issue for our girls. Most of the store-bought swimsuits are just not modest. The one-piece suits are either too high or too low cut. Even the suits with shorts just don't offer the coverage we hoped for.

This past winter, I was on a mission...a mission to find modest, comfortable, beautiful but practical swimsuits. :) Here's what we found...


(I have one as well, mine is all black with the shorts cut just past my knees and the skirt is also a bit longer)

The fabric of these suits is the same as any other bathing suit. It doesn't get heavy in the water (which could create a serious safety hazard) and they dry super quick. The huge added benefit is the extra protection from the sun.




As you can see, these suits don't hold the children back and they've had lots of fun in them :)

The Verdict on My Back

Thank you all for your sweet e-mails and prayers...they are so very appreciated and needed right now :)


The MRI results have come in and they don't sound so good. (But we know the Lord can do all things...even fix a puny thing like a back ;)

My L4-L5 disc is herniated, and my L5-S1 is ruptured with a fragment bulging into my spinal column. It may have done some damage to my sciatic nerve and that's why there is severe pain and numbness from my low back/hip down my leg into my foot. I was referred to a neurosurgeon who has said that I will need surgery but also need to get into physical therapy as soon as possible (supposedly they will re-teach me how to make everyday movements...like getting out of bed etc.) I start the PT tomorrow.


The Lord has definitely been working on me through all of this. It's very easy to have a servants heart and do for others....it's very hard to let others have a servants heart and do for you.
A week and a half ago, I actually started getting kind of depressed. I couldn't do what I wanted to do every day..couldn't take care of my hubby or kids the way I wanted etc. I couldn't take care of my home or gardens...How was I going to can/freeze veggies for the winter?

The Lord is showing me what my real priorities need to be....and it's not a home that is pristine and clean!

I've started a Joy Journal, and every evening, I write at least one thing that brought joy to me in that day. Initially it was a way to not let the blues take over and to be completely honest, when I was in extreme pain, it was embarrassingly hard to think of things to write. :(

Our wonderfully Lord carried me through and forgave me for those negative thoughts ;)

It's now VERY easy! Every night before bed, I write out the blessings of that day that have brought me joy. I try hard to keep any negative thoughts right out of it. There will be a day that I start feeling the blues again (we all do..even if it's hormonal) and I can't wait to go back and read all those pages of blessings! :o) Each day ends with "Thank You Lord!!"

Example:

There was one day I had gone to the store with my family...which my husband normally didn't allow me to do but I needed a new watch and he wanted me to pick it out. Previously I had used those little motorized buggies in the store, but on that day they were all being used. They had a wheel chair with basket that I could use and my wonderful hubby said he would push me through the store. By the time we left the store, I was in such severe pain I was in tears. My little boy came over to me and said "I know just what you need to make the hurting go away Mama...you need an Adam hug" and he gave me one of those monkey hugs that only little 4 year old's can give. That was a moment of pure joy and I don't ever want to forget the blessing of those little monkey arms!

Thank You Lord!!


You all are one of those many blessings....thank you so much :o)

Back from Boston!!

We are home!!! What a wonderful trip we had...but it feels sooo good to be home. The suitcases have been unpacked and the washing machine is already running.

We have lots of pictures to share and will be uploading them over the weekend.

While I was gone, my husbands hours and days off changed....again! lol. But praise the Lord for providing such a wonderful job for him...and the new hours are a complete blessing. For the first time in the 8 years my husband has worked for the railroad, he will have Saturdays and Sundays off. I'll be reworking our schedules to adjust for the new hours and will share the changes here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Wednesday....

Menu for the day:

Breakfast- Steel cup oats, whole wheat toast and fruit of choice. Kefir.

Lunch-Egg salad sandwiches and orange slices.

Dinner- Chili, salad with homemade dressing and cornbread (made with Kamut)


Our morning started off later than normal...we all stayed up a bit too late and so were all moving a bit slow. Morning chores were done while the oats were cooking and then we settled down to breakfast. Kitchen chores were done and then it was time to do some schoolwork.

After getting all of the kids going on their various studies, I puttered in the kitchen a bit. I started some dinner preps and then did an inventory of our dry goods. It's time to do another pantry stock-up:)

Around noon, Arianna made some egg salad sandwiches while I hung a couple of loads of clothes out on the lines. While I was outside, all of the kids came out with their sandwiches and we had a little picnic. :)

We ended up spending the afternoon outside, playing, riding bikes, and playing with our animals. The goats reeaally seem to have spring fever right now. They've been so silly and frisky lately. lol.

Then it was time to come in and work on supper. The beans were simmering in the pot and all I needed to do was make a salad, dressing, cornbread and then brown the hamburger for the chili. My hubby slept a bit later than usual, so we had a later supper and kitchen clean-up.

The kiddos desperately needed a tubby after playing all afternoon...so we lined them up and made sure everyone was clean, brushed and in fuzzy jama's for bed. :)

Early to bed...for everyone...even the Mama.. :)

Tuesday...

Here I am, writing about yesterday when today is about done! lol


Menu for the day:

Breakfast- Fried eggs, toast, bananas and kefir.

Lunch-Steak, sauteed w/ onions, baked potatoes and oranges.

Dinner- Meatloaf, herbed/baked sweet potatoes, green beans and corn.

Dessert was homemade brownie sundaes!


We had another wonderful day in the sun! Lots of laundry washed and hung out...it's getting to the point that I really look forward to doing laundry,....so I can go outside and hang it on the line! lol.

I now have a definite location for our strawberry bed, the herb bed, asparagus bed, Black/raspberry bushes as well as our mini orchard. It may take a few years to put in all of the plants I want (these things are expensive! lol) but it's so exciting to have a plan.

I've been reading another book called "The Self Sufficiency Handbook: A Complete Guide to Greener Living" by Alan and Gill Bridgewater. When I first purchased this book, I didn't notice the part where it said "A Complete Guide to Greener Living". I flipped through the book and noticed all the sections on animals, plants and companion planting and I was intrigued.

My goal though our little homestead is not to become more "green". I think that that is an overused word right now and it's actually become more of a fad. You're "cool" if you're green. :P

I've never been much for following trends...my goal is to be as self sufficient as possible and to be as good of a steward as I can be of the land, home and family the Lord has given me.

It makes sense to compost...we are feeding our soil so it can better feed our family.

It a makes sense to recycle, so we aren't paying for rubbish disposal and we are being better stewards of what the Lord has blessed us with if we can re-use it as many times as possible.

It makes sense to check into solar and wind power...so we can eventually live off-grid and not have to rely on government funded companies that change their prices on a whim.

It makes sense to buy organics whenever possible...they haven't had the same amount of chemicals used on them! (DO NOT BE FOOLED THOUGH...organic vegetables and fruits have still had some chemical compounds put on them...they may not be AS toxic, but they have still had some chemical exposure. )

It makes sense to buy grass-fed and free ranged meats...it's closer to the way God intended for these animals to live and so they'll have more of the nutrients that He planned.

It makes sense to garden, and raise animals for our families consumption so we can save money and still have a wonderful quality of food.

I guess the homesteading lifestyle is pretty "cool" lol.

Saturday and Sunday...

I'm cheating a bit, by combining these two days...but the weekend was sooo beautiful that we didn't spend much time indoors near a computer. :)

Saturday morning we quickly got through our morning tasks and schoolwork...then headed outside for some sunshine! I brought some notebooks outside to sketch a layout of our yard. There are sooo many things we want to add, but we need to make sure there's space for it all lol.

New additions this year...I'll be ripping up our small front yard and putting in an herb/perennial garden. Where my perennials are currently will be a huge patch of strawberries. The blackberries and raspberries will run the length of one side of our yard, along a stone wall. Then there's the dwarf apple orchard....sigh...I can't wait to start all of these projects! lol. We also need to put in some additional garden space for popcorn.

My hubby had to go into work early on Saturday evening, so the kids and I worked on getting everybody bathed, and our clothes ironed and layed out for Sunday.

Sunday morning was a bit hectic...as all Sunday mornings seem to be. :P lol. The kiddos and I went to a new church and absolutely loved it. We have some wonderful friends that already attend this church, so there wasn't the "new church" feeling. It felt very much like home.

The sermon struck a major chord with me. It was on James 4:13-17 and God's will. One thing the pastor said that will stick with me always:

Yesterday is a canceled check...gone and can't be retrieved.
Tomorrow is a promissory note...we can't know that there will even be a tomorrow.
Today is cash in hand...spend it wisely.

After the morning service, this church has a family picnic downstairs...each family brings their own lunch. What a wonderful time of fellowship! Then there is a casual family service following lunch. Adam had a hard time with this one...too much sitting and no nap did not make for a well behaved child. Something to work on. :P

By the time the kids and I got home, my wonderful hubby was just waking up. We spent the afternoon relaxing and having fun together. My husband made us dinner (WOW!! yeah :) Baked chicken breast, green beans sauteed in garlic and olive oil as well as some brown basmati rice.

The kids had such a nice day that they had a hard time settling down to go to sleep. There was a LOT of giggling, storytelling etc. :) We let it go this time as it's officially our weekend and they didn't need to wake up early this morning.

And that was our Saturday and Sunday :)

Friday..

Menu for the day:

Breakfast- Baked pancake (made with kamut) sliced oranges and kefir

Lunch- Was eaten out. (Burritos :P)

Dinner- Slow cooked pork in a tangy sauce, over brown basmati rice, corn and green beans.


Yesterday started with our normal routine...breakfast, morning animal tasks and daily chores, followed by school work. I made some homemade ketchup and then started the slow cooked pork in the crock pot.


Our animal feed supplies were running low, and I needed to pick up some birthday presents we had ordered.... as well as that elusive part for the van, so we ended up heading out around 11am to run those errands.

If you have access to it, Diamond food is an excellent food for dogs and cats. It doesn't have all the junk added, and the price is reasonable as well. You can check the companies website for local businesses that sell the food...our local Tractor Supply is where we get ours.

While we were out and about, we also stopped at a thrift shop (major score on spring/summer clothes for the kids...as well as another crock pot and blender for Mama :) and 2 whole foods stores. We bought some veggies, fruit, organic popcorn and sea salt from the bulk bins, and ground up some fresh peanut butter (which the kids loooove to do :) Whew! What a day of running around lol.

It was sooo nice to come home to dinner in the crock pot. I made some rice and veggies to go along with it (you'll notice we have frozen corn and green beans quite often...they are family favorites as well as veggies we put up in the summer. We've just about run out of beans, but still have an abundance of corn to use up.)

After dinner, we watched Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and then got the kiddos cleaned up and ready for bed. Once the kids were in bed, my husband and I played a video game together.This is definitely NOT something that comes naturally to me, but my husband enjoys these games and has asked me to play with him "so he can share something he enjoys with me" lol.

Then Hubby left for work and I headed to bed.

Thursday..

Menu for the day was:

Breakfast- Scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast with butter, sliced strawberries and kefir.

Lunch- Egg salad sandwiches, and sliced up oranges.

Dinner- Baked chicken leg quarters, boiled potatoes, and green beans.

Dessert- yummy chocolate cake made with kamut (instead of white flour) and Sucanat (instead of white sugar)....I was surprised by how well this came out...it was a quick, throw together cake and I'll post the recipe at the end of this post.


Yesterday was a slow day for us. We were all exhausted from the late night and early morning. We did the basics in school and housework , had lunch and all took a nap! lol...I can't remember the last time my older children willingly took a nap :P

We ended up waking up from our naps about the same time my husband woke for the day. It was nice having some quiet time to chat with him and snuggle with the kids.

Around 4pm, my husband took the van over to the inspection station (hallelujah, it passed!) and I started working on our dinner. I peeled some potatoes and covered them with water, sprinkled some herbs and spices on the chicken...and popped it in the oven. Frozen green beans finished things off..and were quick and easy. While the chicken was in the oven, I took a small pork roast out of the fridge and diced it up into small pieces for this evenings dinner. I put the pork into the crock pot and tucked it in the fridge.

Dinner was very basic, but filling and yummy. My oldest daughters took care of the kitchen clean-up after dinner and then my little boy decided we needed some cake.

It was hilarious...he kept telling my hubby that after the kitchen was tidy, Mama was going to make him a chocolate cake! :P He asked me sooo nicely "Mama, will you please make me a chocolate cake to share with Daddy?" How could I resist...I caved and went into the kitchen to throw together a quick cake. lol.

My husband made some homemade chocolate ice cream a few days ago, so we had a scoop of ice cream with our cake...yummy! Then it was time to get cleaned up and ready for bed. (Teeth thoroughly scrubbed lol) Not long after, my hubby was off to work, and I was heading to bed too.

Here's the recipe for the chocolate cake I made:

3 cups of kamut
( you can use whole wheat, or all purpose flour, but the kamut was delicious)
6 Tablespoons of cocoa powder ( can sub carob powder)
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
2 cups of sucanat (you can use cane juice crystals, or white sugar if you need to)
2 Tablespoons of white vinegar
2/3 cup coconut oil (or light flavored olive oil..or another oil of your choice)
2 cups of cold water
2 teaspoons of vanilla (not the imitation, chemical junk)

Preheat oven to 350*. In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together. Pour batter into an ungreased 9x13 inch pan. (I use glass pyrex dishes)

Tap the pan on the counter to help remove some of the bubbles in the cake batter. Bake at 350* for 30-35 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool and frost. My favorite frosting for this cake is basic vanilla butter cream. (Though this cake is so yummy and moist, you really don't even have to frost it.)

Frosting-

1/3 cup softened real butter (no margarine please lol)
3 cups of powdered sucanat (or regular confectioners sugar if thats all you have)
3 tablespoons of cream (or whole milk)
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla


Blend butter and sugar together. Stir in cream and vanilla until it's nice and smooth. (You can add another drop or two of cream if it's not the consistency you like.)


This recipe came from my paternal Grandmother and it's been a looong time favorite in our family. This recipe also works really well for 24 cupcakes. The cooking time is a bit shorter...more like 20-25 min.

And He Walked Away...

I pray for my husband every night when he leaves for work...for his safety at work and on the drive there and home...and that he'll have a good night in general. Well, the Lord answered my prayers this morning. My husband ended up with the third shift at work and on his way home, in the middle of a snowstorm, he had a pretty severe accident.





AS you can see...not a pretty sight!

But Praise the Lord!!

He walked away...sore, banged up and bruised...but he walked away. I'm trying to not stress about the vehicle situation..this was our only working one at the moment...but if our God can conquer the grave, He can deal with the minor issue of a vehicle. :P lol.



More in-depth posts to come...

Yesterdays Baptism....

My two oldest daughters, Arianna 12 and Cassidy 11, were baptised yesterday....I'm still hovering on the verge of tears. It was one of those huge, defining, moments in their lives and I am soooo happy with the direction the Lord is leading them in. I'm not even sure their wedding days will top this one! Praise the Lord!!!!!

Wonderful Rainy Day in New England

Sometimes it's hard to enjoy rainy days...but this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! The different colored leaves are so beautiful and shiny and it gives us a good day to slow down and enjoy being in the house :)

Our plans for the day are pretty simple. We are going to finish up some school work left over from this week, then we're going to make some chocolate chip cookies for this weeks treat. After the baking is done, we'll be snuggled up on the couch with hot chocolate, popcorn and Little House on The Prairie :) Supper will cook itself in the crock pot today and all I'll have to do this evening is serve it up....sounds like a wonderful, rainy day to me! :)

Homeschool Convention

I went to the first fall conference for Masshope yesterday and was sooo blessed! It is so nice finding families all over New England that are living for the Lord and raising their children to glorify Him. I feel rejuvenated and excited anew about this school year and can't wait to put all that I learned into practice. (Yes, after all these years homeschooling...I'm still learning! :P)

If you have a local Christian Home school conference and have never gone...I urge you to check it out. :)

Happily Hectic..

Our lives have been happily hectic lately...sorry for being so quiet here on the blog-front :)

Our home school is in full swing and we are having a blast with the Prairie Primer! We're also excited with the direction our home school group is taking this year and are looking forward to many of the activities.

I've spent much of my "spare time" (what's that?? LOL) processing and putting up apples. We now have 27 quarts of apple sauce and 16 quarts of apple pie filling...with about 1 more bushel left.

I've also spent some time in my garden, planning and plotting it out for the coming year. I'm intrigued by the square foot method of gardening and have decided to utilize about half our garden in square foot beds this next year. They've all been measured and plotted out so we can start putting some of the compost directly into the gardens. (We won't be using raised beds as our soil is already quite nice and won't be needing any major changes.)

I'm hoping that life will slow down enough that I can get back to this blog a bit more. I have so many posts swirling around in my head and am looking forward to getting them written down for all of you. :)

May the Lord bless and keep you!

To every thing there is a season...

Autumn is my favorite time of year...the cool, fresh, crisp air. The fruits and vegetables being harvested and tucked away for winter use. Sleeping on crisp, cool sheets with the quilts tucked up to my ears and nose. Watching the leaves turn beautiful shades of red, yellow and orange. Watching my children bury themselves in those leaves...ahhhh...what a beautiful life!


"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: ²A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; ³A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; ⁴A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; ⁵A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ⁶A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; ⁷A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; ⁸A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

That passage of scripture is among my most favorite in the Bible. No matter the "season" of life I am in, the Lord uses this passage to speak to my heart.

Right now, it's speaking to me in a literal sense.

I've spent the past week plucking "up that which is planted" and putting it away for the winter ;) I picked, processed and froze about 100+ lbs of corn and 30 quarts of butternut squash (with a bit more to go). Yesterday, I spent the day picking bushel after bushel of apples.

Along with all that we've harvested, I also purchased 150lbs of potatoes, 40lbs of onions, 50 lbs of carrots, and 6 ginormous cabbages directly from the farms. Our freezer, pantry and root cellar are getting close to full ;)

I am feeling so very blessed...the Lord has provided for us in such a magnificent way! My husband has been very ill and has been out of work. Grocery money will be scarce for the next couple of weeks...but thanks to the Lord's provisions and this wonderful, autumn bounty...we won't even feel it ;)

First Illness of the Season...

What a wonderful time we had this past weekend. The centennial celebration for our church lasted 3 days and was such a blast.

Unfortunately, our first illness of the season hit shortly thereafter :( Arianna was hit with it first this time, starting it off with a high fever, sore throat & ears, stuffy head, aches and chills. I followed pretty quickly behind her though at first my body seemed to fight it off a bit better than hers had...until today. This morning I woke up with a severe headache, stuffed up head, upset tummy and sore throat. As soon as Cassidy woke up I noticed she was coming down with the virus too...and Karina and Adam both started sneezing and dripping around lunch time. My hubby (who works nights) woke about 4pm and was also congested and achy. It's so hard when we are all sick at once...

So here is my question to all of you wonderful readers...what are your cure-alls for these kinds of viruses? I'm hoping to make a big pot of chicken soup tomorrow, we are pushing the fluids and vitamins...I'd love to hear any other suggestions you-all may have :)

Centennial Celebration Begins!

Tonight was the first night in our churches Centennial Celebration....what a fantastic night it was. The love and fellowship was soooo wonderful ;) There had to have been well over 100 people there!

We began the night at 6pm with a pizza party...almost every kind imaginable and there was more than enough to go around (several times!) Then we went upstairs to the sanctuary for a talent show/hymn sing. There would be 2 "talents" followed by 2 hymns. What a blast...and some of the talents were just spectacular. After the show, we went back downstairs for a make-your-own-sundae party. Delicious and again..so much fun!

We left the church after 10pm just got home a few minutes ago. (2 kiddos are already in bed, 2 to go!)

I'm really looking forward to tomorrows festivities and need to get to bed myself ;)

Praising the Lord Even Through Adversity...

It's so easy to praise the Lord when things are going well...but what about when they are rough?

In my last post I shared with everyone how a bolt had broken and I had almost lost the drive shaft in my Suburban while driving down the road. Initially it seemed an easy fix...it wasn't. We needed a whole new drive shaft. And while we were at the parts store negotiating for the parts we needed...my husbands truck started leaking anti-freeze and now needed a radiator. When we got home, we received a bill in the mail for over 600$ (legitimate bill...just completely out of the blue) Because we spent so much time running back and forth to my in-laws house (40 min. away) I lost 4 bushels of corn that I had picked, husked, and gotten into canning jars (which meant sterilizing jars etc.) There were several other minor things going on as well.

I finally broke down and cried...I mean, come on! When was this going to end???? I had been praying for the Lord to help us through this situation...and things were getting harder!

Then I heard my answer..."It's easy to praise Me when things are easy....but how about now?"

I asked for forgiveness and started praising...through my tears, I was praising Him.

"²⁵Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. ²⁶My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." Proverbs 25-26

The Suburban is now fixed..and we may be able to get a used radiator for Roy's truck. All of the other situations are slowly working themselves out as well.

God is SO GOOD!!! All the time...and I'm resting at His feet with the knowledge that He is in control and will take care of us.

Major Praise...

I drive a 1999 Chevy Suburban with well over 200k miles. Despite the high miles, we have been blessed to have this truck and it has treated us very well. I have a very wonderful husband that has a gift with anything mechanical which really helps ;)

This past week, the children and I were mostly homebound due to faulty universal joints. Yesterday, my husband woke up early to change the universal joints on the Suburban and so today was able to run some errands.

I brought Casssidy, my 10 year old, with me as a special "Mama daughter day":)

We had such a fun "girls day" and enjoyed running several of the errands together. Then we headed to a hospital to visit a dear friend of mine who had just given birth. About 1/4 of a mile from the hospital, the truck started shaking, clunking and rattling...I thought I had a tire falling off! I more or less coasted to the hospital and called my husband to see what we should do. (The poor man didn't get to sleep until 8:30AM and I called him at 1:30PM :( )

It turns out that a bolt that he had replaced yesterday snapped...and the entire drive shaft was hanging from the bottom of the truck. If I had driven even 1 minute further, it would have fallen off completely and you can imagine the damage it could have done. We had been on a major highway going 70 mph just moments earlier...you can imagine what would have happened if it had fallen off then!

Long story short...I am so blessed to have a handy hubby and a wonderful friend that was able to tow the truck for us. God is so good and He kept us safe! And the damage done...minimal. We need to replace the universal joint and mounting bracket again...about $25 in parts. And...I was able to spend time snuggling a beautiful, new baby boy!

Hallelujah, thank you Abba!

Wonderful Day at Old Sturbridge Village

We had a wonderful family day today!

This morning started with a quick trip for Arianna and I to the orthodontist. They were impressed with the movement in her teeth and how well she's been caring for them. The Dr. made some minor adjustments and we were on our way.

Back at home, my wonderful hubby had the rest of the children all ready to go and soon we were loaded into the truck and on our way!

We traveled down to Sturbridge Ma and spent the day at Old Sturbridge Village. It's an "outdoor history museum" set in an 1830's rural town. It was such a wonderful, educational day and the weather couldn't have been more perfect (thank you LORD!!!)

We were able to see the farm life, several homesteading skills, a potter, a blacksmith (who actually gave us the piece he was working on to take home with us! ) a real water-powered sawmill, gristmill and carding mill. We saw a broom-maker, historical firearms and textiles...and soooo much more!

Here are some of the pictures I took today...


All of the children on one of the stone walls around a pasture/ orchard area....


Karina helping the potter with the clay mixer....

A stagecoach being pulled by a Belgian team...we had a wonderful chat with the driver :)

Karina at the water pump...

And all three girls at the water pump...

Adam preferred to be chauffeured in the stroller today so there were less shots of him :P

If you ever have the opportunity to check out Old Sturbridge Village, I highly recommend it! We've been several times now and learned so much each time. The greatest part is that they honor homeschooling families by offering a home school discount. For homeschoolers and their families, the fee is only $7...unfortunately it's only during the school year and we missed the "official" start of the school year by a couple of days and had to pay full price. Well worth it though and I'm sure we'll go again.

Updates and New Additions...

Wow, has it been a week! :P I haven't had the time to do much posting and just wanted to give a quick update :)

~We started school on Monday! We've had an excellent school week and have greatly enjoyed the Prairie Primer unit studies. We've also enjoyed the Bible Study for All Ages curriculum (notice the we?? Yup..even Mama!0

~ The parents of our home school group got together and were able to plan out this years activities..by the grace of God, we were able to get the entire school year planned! This was amidst much laughter and side conversations...what an awesome group of Christian folks...the fellowship was so sweet :)

~New additions...We adopted 2 kittens! Amari is Siamese and Niki is all white with a tiny gray smudge on her head...such fun having kittens in the house :)

~More new additions...we just received 17 chicks this morning! I wasn't sure if they would survive the shipping and didn't want to get out children's hopes raised...what an awesome surprise it was for them to see chickies when they woke up ;)

~I've been playing with a couple bread recipes...rye and egg breads..I'll post recipes once I'm happy with them :)

~Wrapping up the garden for the year has been so bittersweet. I really enjoyed working in the garden this summer...and even more when we were eating the yummy food. I'm happy to have more time to devote to other tasks though. I already have lots of plans for our next garden and will write more here when I post about the gardening section of my Homesteading Journal.

~And last but not least, we had pipes burst in our kitchen...which led to flooded cabinets and floors :P It's been a wild couple of days!



In the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting about:

~Some new frugal, nutritious recipes.
~Grocery shopping and menu planning. (I'll be sharing my weekly menu's and corresponding grocery lists.)
~My Homesteading Journal (each section will probably get it's own post.)
~My cast iron collection, and the care and restoration of cast iron pieces.
~Prairie Primer projects, activities and recipes we are trying.
~Current sewing projects and re-purposing and recycling fabrics.

And the list goes on! :P