~Good Friends~

 We were blessed to visit with dear friends this weekend! We miss them so much and wish they would move back...but, that's probably not going to happen. :) 

New Driver

 

                                                

                                                Eleanor passed her permit test this week!!!

~ Daily Life~

I've been trying to take daily walks, and sometimes Clayton is able to come with me.  One day I did yoga and walked! After not feeling well for a year I am trying to move my body and get some strength back.  Little progress is still progress. :)   

Here are some pictures I took on one of my walks. 

Hanging out one night! 

So...I asked Athanasius to throw away these dull and pretty useless garden snips, he didn't, and then Boaz took them apart and made this! Super cool son but no...this scares Mom.  Spoiler...they ended up in the trash.

Pizza dough on the left and two simple bread loves. 

This was going on when I took that peaceful, Laura Ingalls Wilder pic of my bread...lovely chaos. :) 

Sometimes I can get Moses to take a nap, he still needs one but doesn't always believe me.

I just really like our room (this used to be the carport)

 

Moses made a bed from the box Athansius' cowboy hat came in. We thought he might sleep in this box bed one night since he loved it so much (he still doesn't sleep in the toddler bed I made him by himself, Boaz has to sleep with him!) .

This is about all I grew in the garden this year, that's ok, it just wasn't the year for a big garden.  Maybe next year! A morning glory grew up the sunflowers...improvise and overcome at its finest! 

Felicity and I put "A Girl of the Limberlost" on and we attracted a crowd.

I've been doing well with my reading goal! Reading is so therapeutic for me. 

Our days are filled with learning, homemaking, and creativity.  And we do all of this very well in what is considered a small home (1,268 sq ft).  I want to cultivate thanksgiving and a feeling of enough in our children.  We don't always need more or bigger to have a beautiful life.  

 

~ Our Week ~

 

Hello! Here are some pictures from our week. We visited the pool this week, and went to a dear friend's house for dinner one night.  We also watched the old Parent Trap one day at lunch and the kids really enjoyed that.  

One morning Moses and I went outside while the big kids did their morning chores, it was so nice in the shade. 

Sweet Eleanor doing her after lunch chore...laundry!!!

This is our new kitty, Sherlock, the kids named him. :) He is so sweet and cuddly. 

Nice selfie Fi!! 

Moses was chopping some sweet peppers for Texas Caviar. :) 

This night we started listening to " A Girl of the Limberlost". I love this story and the kids watched the 1990 version movie while we had covid and enjoyed it. The movie was such a small part of the story I thought they might enjoy the book too. 

Sherlock loves to rest on our shoulders, even when we're standing or walking around.  He's on my husband and Boaz is petting him while we were saying our evening prayers. 

The weather is still hot but not as bad as it was, it is not triple digits and that is wonderful! I would like to visit the pool again before the week is over. It will close soon when the public school kids go back to school. 

The kids are all reading some great books for school, I should mention them in my next post.  I've been making these protein bars I used to make, they have nuts, dried fruit, coconut oil, oats, and topped with melted chocolate and then cooled. They are so good! I also made some baked spaghetti this week that the kids really enjoyed, I will have to make more it next time for leftovers. We start the Dormition fast next week so I've been trying to give them some yummy treats this week.  I'm so thankful I have been feeling better, I have enjoyed cooking and cleaning so much. It feels so wonderful to take care of our home and family the way I would like too. Thank God! 

Sleepy Boy

 

One of my favorite parts of the day is nap time with this little guy.  He is such a ball of energy and emotions that resting beside him is so nice.  I love Moses so much and I thank God for him and for giving me the courage to have one more baby.  Pregnancy and postpartum are very challenging times for me. Moses' pregnancy may have been my most peaceful, with the least amount of anxiety.  

I have struggled so much with anxiety throughout my entire time as a mother that sometimes I can get pretty sad because I look back and wonder why things had to be so hard, why does this (the anxiety) have to be so much a part of my life? But I'm seeing that there is a lot of beauty in the struggle.  There is beauty in a woman struggling every day and every day showing up to the best of her ability.

These Summer Days...

 This summer has been a bit different because I am struggling with my health and not up to some of our normal summer activities, but that's okay! We're making it and my husband is pretty amazing at getting the kids to different activities.   I'm really hoping I will improve as the year progresses and next summer will look a lot different.  But, I have learned you don't have to make grand gestures to have beautiful memories together.  I think we have laughed more this summer than ever before. 

Boaz was trying to catch some hardened pine sap on fire. 

This is a coloring page Felicity and I worked on together.  We love to color and listen to Laura audio books, we're listening to On the Shores of Silver Lake right now, it may be my favorite.

Our sweet Boazshowing me some lichen. He was so excited! He finds beauty everywhere.

The younger kids and I had this terrarium kit for quite awhile and we finally put it together. Everyone got to help and it was a lot of fun! 

I am trying to restock my etsty store with decorated caps.  This one I made for myself, hope is the word I chose for this year.  I have seen other people choose a word to focus on for the year but I never thought it was for me.  Hope seemed like the perfect word for me this year.  It's not something that comes naturally to me, I'm so practical I annoy myself.  Hope is not a feeling but more of an action, a muscle I have to work on and exercise every day.

I read this Tuttle Twins book to everyone but Eleanor.  I'm not sure what I think of it, it was good but I wish there was a little bit more there.  I think I will get the next book and see if it builds on this.  But either way the kids really enjoyed it! 

May Birthdays

 We have three birthdays in May, Eleanor, Moses, and Athansius. In that order.:) Yesterday we celebrated Moses and Eleanor.  Clayton took the day off work, he also took Eleanor out for lunch at Maple Lane.  We celebrate our birthdays a little differently because the thought of organizing a party overwhelms me.  This is something I struggle with, but I'm learning it's okay to be different, it's okay to make adjustments to fit your needs. My biggest concern is that our kids will feel sad, but hopefully, they feel loved by the way we celebrate them and just how special they are to us.  

It's so hard to believe Eleanor is 15, it feels like yesterday we were in our little duplex where she was born.  Eleanor is kind and sincere.  I love talking with her.  We finally finished out Mocking Jay together! She has been posting art videos on youtube, I'm so, SO proud of her.  She is such a beautiful person. 

Moses is sweet and spicy these days! :) He still loves to be held and cuddled, and for that I'm thankful.  He does have a strong will but we are working with him.  He wants to do everything the other kids are doing.  He loves to play with legos, hot wheels, and OUTSIDE. :) We've been spending a lot of time at his sandbox. He likes to pour water in the sandbox and make a "waterfall".  He will be three tomorrow. :)