• Oct. 27, 2009 - Country Boys
I snapped this picture of the boys while we were at the pumpkin patch with our homeschool group the other day. Somehow the old truck just made a very fitting prop for my boys.
Hard working. Reliable. Lots of character.
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• Oct. 5, 2009 - Happy Fall Y'all!
Hip, hip, hooray!
My very favorite season is here: Fall (or Autumn if you want to sound fancy!).
Oh, Fall, how I love you, let me count the ways:
- Bright blue skies
- Gorgeous Harvest Moons
- Leaves of many colors
- And that delicious rain-like sound as the wind whooshes them to the ground
- The perfect weather for camping
- The warmth and smell of the campfire
- Roasted marshmallows!
- Wearing cozy sweats and hoodies
- Flannel sheets
- My Autumn Wreath Yankee Candle (It reminds me SO much of my dad)
- Pumpkins, mums, straw bales, and corn stalks galore!
- Caramel apples
- Lots and lots of soup and chili
- Spiced cider
- Shorter days and long cozy nights
- Arts and Craft Shows & Fall Festivals
- Thinking about God's abundance and the purpose for the different seasons
- Really taking time to give thanks
Just take a look at this cute framed needlework that I picked up at our community's
Fall Festival.
It really captures what Fall is about for me!
But I also found this delightful Fall wreath ON SALE at Big Lots. Gotta love that!
The Fall colors: they speak to me.
And I did manage to get a START on my 2009 Fall Front Porch display. It's not all together yet. We haven't been to the pumpkin patch yet so I only have two smaller pumpkins that we've picked up along the way. And I would still like to find some orange mums to add to the display and my purple fabric for the table. But Fall is here and I just couldn't wait to start putting things out. It just makes me happy every time I see those mums and pumpkins on the front porch. If I was Rachel Zoe, I'd say "literally."
And here's a little money-saving trivia, especially for you new bloggy visitors (waving hello!) who clicked over here from Molly's Econobuster e-newsletter or The Homeschool Minute.
In our area, there is an Amish produce/flower auction. If the flowers aren't "perfect", they sell them at a whopper discount. I got these large mums for $3 each instead of $4.50 - $6. I'm not interested in perfect. I think a few flaws add to the rustic farmhouse chic vibe that I'm going for. Ha!
Anyway Happy Fall Y'all from my home to yours, I hope you enjoy the beauty and comfort of this season and take some time to count your blessings.
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• Sep. 23, 2009 - Spotted on the Farm Today
One fat black sheep trying to stay dry under the trampoline.
His faithful friend, the horse, standing nearby, enjoying the rain and munching on grass.
I cherish these moments.
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• Jul. 1, 2009 - Around Our Place
Isn't it hard to believe that it's July already? The summer is flying by. Fortunately though, it's been great.
After cutting back my workload with The Old Schoolhouse in February, I thought I would perk up and start feeling better immediately. Alas, it didn't quite work that way. I really just started feeling better in the last few weeks - almost 4 months later! I still struggle with the normal ups and downs of fibromyalgia, but overall I'm coping much much better. I'm sleeping better and don't need supplements to help me sleep all the time and I'm able to get out and about much much more.
A friend pointed out to me that it just takes time for the body to heal itself. We tend to want quick relief, but after having burned the candle at both ends for far too long, it took me 4 months of doing practically nothing before my body could recover. The hard part was that it didn't feel like I was getting better during those months. At times, I actually felt worse and that was a real bummer, yet God was working and things were improving even when I didn't "feel" it.
In other news, we've lost all but one of our chickens and quite a few of our guineas. Apparently some predators decided to have themselves an all you can eat buffet on our delightful free range fowl. I miss my chickens and hearing the roosters crow. Now, we're down to 13 guineas and 1 hen.
Apparently her hiding skills served her well. She's our lone survivor!
Thankfully Billy and Baab are doing well, as are the dogs and cats. And the boys and I have had a great summer. After being so tied down while I was working so much, we decided to schedule at least one fun budget-friendly activity a week. It's been such a blessing. I think I needed a mental change of pace to help myself heal too.
Plus after much procrastination, I finally got my oldest son's transcript up to date. Woo hoo! Homeschool mom dance of joy! It really helped me to think about not only what I want to do with him, but also with the other boys this upcoming school year. I am SO thankful for this season of refreshment and how God has shown Himself faithful every step of the way.
I still think more changes are coming, but I know that wherever God leads us, He will prepare the way.
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• Jun. 8, 2009 - Introducing Clyde
He's not much a talker, but he's quite a looker isn't he?
I love him. I loved him from the first moment that I spied him at a local yard sale.
I knew that he had to be mine.
At first, my husband couldn't understand the attraction.
But after noticing that I was practically drooling over ALL of the metal animals -
(donkeys, sheep, and flying pigs - oh my!)
he began to think strategically and bought him quickly before I could
begin to make plans to own a whole collection of welded animals.
He's one smart cookie.
I *heart* him.
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• May. 14, 2009 - Birthdays are fun.
 Tony turned 40 today and we had a lot of fun celebrating with him and just plain ol' celebrating him. Tony and I first met in 1987 (when we were both just young whipersnappers) so we've known each other for almost 22 years now.
I knew he was a special guy right from the first time we met as friends. Even when my mother met him as she and I shopped in Wal-Mart one day, she commented on how nice he was.
Back in those days, people were buying cassette tapes of their favorite groups.
Today he got his first Ipod.
 We're on the cutting edge of technology around here you know.
But anyway, I'm glad that my mom and I were right about him being a nice guy being as how I married him and all. Cuz we've got these three boys and wow are they like him.
He practically shares a brain with this one.
This one has his make-everybody-laugh personality.
And this one has his heart.
Anyway, we wanted to make him feel extra special so we made him a card and wrote 40 things that we love about him in it and took him out to eat at a Japanese steakhouse.
Whoa baby, that was some yummy teppanyaki. (My friend Mel taught me that word.) Our chef quickly spied Jon as the one to impress and had lots of fun wowing him with twirling spatula, egg tricks, cool fires, and the flaming onion. If you haven't ever been to a Japanese steak house, this YouTube video shows kind of what it's like. It was an awesome night of doing something new and fun together.
And a great way of celebrating just how much Tony means to all of us!
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• Apr. 24, 2009 - I love these guys
Tony likes to call them the B Brothers because their names are Billy and Baa-b.
They kind of remind me of the Odd Couple or something. They have a rather unlikely friendship.
Yet day after day, they seem to grow to love each other even more.
Baab seems to keep a little extra spunk in Billy's step while
Billy keeps a watchful eye over Baab.
Watching them both just makes me happy.
Nice, isn't it?
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• Apr. 21, 2009 - Look up
"I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life." Genesis 9:13-15
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• Mar. 12, 2009 - Snow on the buttercups
Well you know what they say about the weather in Kentucky, "If you don't like it, just hang on because it's always changing."
Our grass has been getting greener and we even have some buttercups blooming.
And then today, it's cold and snowing again. Go figure.
Poor little buttercups. I hope they enjoy snow.
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• Mar. 10, 2009 - Soaking up the Yummy Goodness of March!
My March is off to a great start as I'm taking time to relax a bit and enjoy my favorite people a little bit more.
These two fellas have really been enjoying the 4wheeler again since we got it fixed last week.
Perhaps they enjoyed the mud a bit too much?
Meanwhile I was having much more clean fun putting together a puzzle.
It was actually more challenging than it looks, but I absolutely love doing a puzzle with my family.
And I spent almost a week visiting my mom in TN while going to the chiropractor there (LOVE him!) and checking on Tony's mom who just had hip replacement surgery.
While I was there, the weather was gorgeous and it really got me thinking about Spring, spring cleaning, and gardening. If you're looking for some natural cleaning recipes or garden plans, you should check out the February Molly Digest. It has all of that stuff plus some other neat articles about home decorating, using coupons, lessons from the old timers about saving money, and a really neat story about one family raising their kids out in the country without a mortgage. It's good stuff, people!
I still have a lot of catching up to do on some of those things, but I am just thoroughly enjoying my time off and soaking in the blessings He has provided!
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