Memory Making

One afternoon we headed over to my parents' to spend the afternoon making grape jelly. Sure I could make it on my own but that's not what it's about.  

Megan made us laugh. We measured out sugar and then she was told to go throw the bag away. She made sure she there was not one grain of sugar thrown away.

It's during this time in the kitchen that Megan is learning valuable skills from her Grammi.

 

While working mom opens up and talks about her time in the kitchen with her mom. I love hearing stores about her childhood and what life was like growing up on a farm.  She talks about all of the canning that was done by my grandmother. In those moments I learn more about my grandmother, mom and how things were in years past. From the stories I can visualize my grandmother in the kitchen making things to feed her growing family. 

The grape jelly made is a bonus. What it's really about is the memories shared and the memories made. 

I'll be back next week. Chuck's Friday off happens to fall on a holiday weekend which means we will have four glorious days together. I plan to head out Friday morning for my monthly grocery haul and then I will be making memories with my family. Happy Labor Day! 

May your day be filled with joy in the journey!

Joy in the Ordinary

Look around, really look around and you will find joy... joy in the everyday... joy in the ordinary things.

Dinosaur is an excellent student. He's working on his spelling and vocabulary; which he takes seriously.

Laundry is a never ending task. It makes for a happier home if you find joy in clean laundry.

Megan's new fascination is rocks. She calls them geological samples. Ha!

This hawk is beautiful but I wish he would find another area to stalk. It's sad not seeing the birds fluttering around the feeder and birdbath.

I continue to step outside each evening. I am soaking in the evenings while I can. It's always a sad day when it the weather turns and I can't step into the yard at night.

Summer is hanging on even with the signs of Fall showing up.

Sunday afternoons are for resting and relaxing. I love that my guy finds it relaxing to play legos with his girl.

Anyone else have a child that loves mud? We've had mud soup, cakes and even bowls and plates. I love, love, love that she isn't to old to play and use her imagination. I say let them be little as life flies by and before we know it she'll be adulting. Yikes!

Just because the simple, everyday things with this guy make my heart happy.

May your day be filled with joy in the journey!

Saturday at Home

Saturday was such a beautiful day! I awoke a little before six and I was the first one up. That is rare since Chuck is an early riser. I took advantage of the quiet to slip outside with my Bible and a cup of tea.

It was only 58* when I stepped outside, so sipping some hot tea hit the spot. I spent some time with my Savior while watching the sun rise. A perfect start to what would be a perfect day!

The night before we had to make a run to the hardware store. While there I picked up some fall pretties. 

While Chuck and I were weeding the flower beds Megan was romping around the yard. 

 When the weeding was done I started to plant. The petunias needed pulled as they were starting to fade. I traded them out for mums. 

I made a quick lunch of pizza roll ups. Easy, easy. 

Roll out refrigerated pizza dough and then add your toppings of choice. I used tomato sauce, sausage and pepperoni. Roll up and cut into slices, like you would cinnamon rolls. Bake in a greased muffin tin at 425* for about 10 minutes. A fun take on pizza. 

After lunch Megan helped Chuck with a project while I gave all of my flowers a good water. 

The impatiens in the window boxes on the front of my home are full and beautiful this year. It brings me joy to pull into the drive and see them. 

While Megan and Chuck finished their project I spent the remainder of the afternoon reading. I love days that can be spent on the back porch! 

Chuck picked up a hitch hiker on his way back to the garage. 

A perfect blend of beauty, work and relaxation. Grateful for a much needed day at home!

May your day be filled with joy in the journey!

Joy in the Ordinary

Look around, really look around and you will find joy... joy in the everyday... joy in the ordinary things.

The solar eclipse didn't disappoint! Our area saw a 91% eclipse. I loved that when it first started Megan said it looked like Cookie Monster had taken a big bite out of the sun.

A trip to the library replenished my reading pile. 

The pictures in A Year of Picnics are like eye candy. They actually reminded me of something Monica The Homespun Heart would post. She is the queen of cute picnics!

We went to the fair with my in-laws and made tons of memories!

We enjoyed the show in the Pioneer Village that demonstrated how the old farm equipment worked. Megan took an interest in the history of wheat threshing.

After the show she asked a question and the man took the time to walk her through some things and let her touch and try her hand at threshing wheat. 

 I don't think you can learn the history of wheat threshing this well from a book! This is exactly what I imagined when we made the decision the homeschool. 

A dead tree was cut down on Saturday. We are blessed to have great people in our lives who are willing to help us!

There have been some amazing sunsets. Something I never tire of seeing. 

Art consisted of heating rocks (350* for 10 minutes) and then using crayons to create a design. A fun project! If you do it, please, remember it needs constant adult supervision as it would be easy to forget that the rock is hot :)

Fresh, sweet Indiana corn. Yum!

 I stepped onto the back porch and noticed that the neighbors tree is changing.

Ready or not the change of season is coming!

May your day be filled with joy in the journey!

Random Thoughts

Cheryl from Copperwife advises to hold my plans loosely. Always great advise but I can really see the wisdom in it as I have started to homeschool.  During week one the math lesson plan was set aside and I went with plan B. Why? My girl needs some review in one area. It's easy to want to stay focused and to stay on schedule. Sometimes holding those plans loosely is the best thing in all matters of life. Soon we we will pick back up with the planned math.

Sleep is important! More important then a schedule. We had a late night and sleep in some. I should have let Megan sleep in more. We ended up with a few tears. (Hers not mine this time. *smile*) Only because my girl was tired. Lesson learned!!

You have to stick with your own convictions. When speaking with those who don't get homeschooling or even those super homeschoolers it's best to give short answers, smile and agree to disagree. The plan for my family may not be what you'd do, but the beauty is we can each do what we think is best. 

This, this post right here really spoke to me. I've always felt tremendous pressure to be more, to do more and this post made me realize that the life I live is perfectly fine. It made me cry and realize that maybe I am doing exactly what God always planned for me. 

I am having one of those moments where I am emotionally spent. The truck is broken, the lawn tractor died and I am having a health issue (nothing life threatening). I keep giving myself the pep talk to be grateful we have the van for Chuck to drive to work, be grateful that we have a push mower for the lawn and to be grateful that my health isn't worse. 

We tried to buy a new lawn tractor. Inventory is low so it isn't a good time. Let's just say it was a disaster. I returned it yesterday and almost cried when leaving Home Depot.  My guy came home I fell into his arms and all was right with me again. Life can be hard.  Honestly we were never promised easy, but I know it will all work out.  I have been praying for God to help me to trust and have faith.

I have joined instagram; wendib_well  My account is private so you'll have to send me a request to follow along. 

We have a jammed packed weekend planned. Friday we are going to the fair, Saturday we have people coming over to help cut down a tree and Sunday is our day of rest. After school I have to whip my home into shape and then do some grocery shopping for lunch on Saturday. You can't expect six men to work without feeding them. *smile* See you next week!

May your day be filled with joy in the journey!

Joy in the Ordinary

Look around, really look around and you will find joy... joy in the everyday... joy in the ordinary things.

Life has been keeping me busy. They will be a couple of weeks worth of pictures in this post.

The funeral procession for the police officer that was killed in the line of duty.  You might wonder how I can find joy in this.

 This is what I said on my FB page about it. "Walked to the main street and watched my community come together to honor fallen officer Lt. Allan. Seeing our community line the sidewalks made me proud to call this place home. Words can't describe what it was like to see a mile of police cars coming down the street. One of those things I pray is a once in a lifetime event."

A hard day but it was reassuring that in a world that seems uncaring and sometimes very evil there are still people who care. The officer and his family where people of faith and it was evident as all through this day. The end of watch radio call referenced John 15:13. 

Our Iowa family was in town over night. We ended up with some additional family over for a cookout the night they were in town. I took one picture the whole time. This Megan and her cousin Andrea. I guess you could say I was living in the moment. *smile*

 Chuck received free tickets to a baseball game from his employer.

 It was a beautiful evening and we really enjoyed it.

 There were some cooler days which meant I could make comfort food. Sadly the heat and humidity is back.

 Both Megan and I are thoroughly enjoying our adventure in homeschooling. So many things I could say about it but that will be a topic for another post.

The day awaits me so I need to run. Our riding lawn mower broke beyond repair so I need to go out and start pushing.  I hope to complete that task before the heat of day builds.

May your day be filled with joy in the journey!