Thanks to Marmee Dear, I have put up the rest of the apples.  I was struggling to just get the job done.  For a time I was able to keep telling myself the children were doing a good job dwittling down the pile by snacking on them………BUT, even they have tired of eating them. 

As I mentioned before, a dear friend gifted us with TONS of homemade applesauce.  We were actually with her for apple picking day.  She had planned to pick a couple bushels for the sauce, but with our ten children together, we ended up with over 4 bushels!  She sent me home with two bushels and she put the other 2 into applesauce. 

After reading Marmee Dear's lovely article on a Midwinter Gathering in TOS magazine, I decided to put up some apple butter.  So, now the house smells of delectable apples and spices.  The kitchen is warmed by the hot oven, therefore the cold coming through the back door, due to the children’s comings and goings, is almost inviting!

Ahhhhhhhhhh…..the joys of homemaking!  God really did bless us women with His design for us! 

Thank you Lord for the heat of warm, cozy kitchens that smell of flavorful, mouth watering spices on chilly Autumn nights!  Thank you for woolen mittens and knitted stocking caps that are now keeping my children warm as they play out in Autumn breezes!  Thank you for gifting us women with our role here on earth!