Missing the Green

 Going back through the photos I took in the fall,  I was blown away

by how quickly the color has faded from this bright October day.

Life is flying by so fast,  December worst of all~~

I am thankful for moments like this that remind me to slow down....

Thankful for the seasons,  and how winter won't last forever!

How do I love?

God is calling.

He's calling me to here, 

to offer each task,  each moment,

 as an gift,

wrapped with thanks-giving.

*building a fort on the stairs with Ian

*Silent Night played over and over

*morning light,  and joy

*sleep,  even in 2 hour stretches

Childhood Dreams

As a young girl,  the highlight of my summer was going u-picking.

Raspberries and blackberries,  apples and peaches.

Canning, making jam and pies,  oh the smells.

I longed for the day when I would have my own home, 

with all kinds of my own fruit.   How amazing would that be?

This summer,  5 years after putting our roots down here,

we have our first real harvest of fruit.

Raspberries by the bucketful~2 times a week,

  and we picked 130 pounds of peaches this evening. 

I feel something that money can't buy,  feeding my family from the fruit of our hands.

This blessing,  this is wealth,  this is abundance from the Lord.

On the Porch

September+front porch+my babies

heavenly

Time-Out

photo of the boys' favorite chicken (Whitey)

~by Braden

I've never grieved this way. It's different this time. I would just rather NOT process all this pain. So I put it away, tenderly and with a prayer that it will stay where it belongs and not mess up my life. But last night, it overflowed like a drawer stuffed with too many socks. The grief explodes and I wonder how I am to clean it up.



The first thing to go:

Blog reading/Facebook has brought many wonderful friends and blessings to my life, but at this stage in my grief being on the 'net is also bringing on extra burdens that I can't bear right now. My real life is pretty simple.....feed the family, fold the laundry, weed the vegetables---and I like it that way. So, while I will still be blogging here for the purpose of my personal and family journal, I won't be checking in or commenting on all my favorite blogs for the next few months. And I'm quitting Facebook, too.



Wonder what it's like back in the stone age? I'll let you know!

Spa Saturday

Simple, homemade facials:

a herbal steam with thyme from my flower beds,

honey and yogurt mask,

finished off with a skin-tightening treatment of egg whites.

~

Ingredients:

free from our kitchen and garden

Feeling pampered:

priceless.